It's sort of fun to step back and watch all the all-consuming, ever-chaotic story of Big East expansion unfold before our very eyes. In today's episode, it is the rumor that the conference at least put out a feeler to BYU to join the conference as a football playing member only. According to the BYU blog Shades of Blue:
"In recent days a rumor has also surfaced regarding BYU potentially joining the Big East Conference. Deep Shades of Blue has learned that the conference did indeed contact BYU about becoming a football-only member, but that the proposal was turned down by the BYU administration.
Big East programs have been among the many schools that have been talking to BYU about future games."
Damn those pesky anonymous sources!
I suppose reeling in a religiously affiliated, now football independent is the next best thing from reeling in THE biggest fish in the college football conference musical chairs -- Notre Dame -- which also happens to be religiously affiliated and a football independent.
Can you imagine a Saturday night Big East football tilt between the god-fearing BYU Cougars visiting those god-less heathens in Morgantown? You wouldn't even need to sell beer at Mountaineer Field to make that game epic.
Whether or not BYU actually received an invite to join the Big East as a football-only member is moot. The rumor in and of itself speaks to the absolute craziness around Big East expansion and the conference's desperate scramble to maintain its automatic berth to the big money BCS bowls. It also should serve as a lesson to the rest of college football that you shouldn't let a guy from a basketball-only school make college football decisions for your conference.