Another day, another report of the Big East's imminent demise. CBS Sports' Brett McMurphy is go.
Go to 11? Multiple sources have told CBSSports.com if/when the Big 12 decides to expand to 11 schools, Louisville will be the choice. "They are clearly the best fit," a college football industry source said. Not only are the Cardinals the overwhelming favorite as the Big 12's 11th team, but sources told CBSSports.com that the Cardinals are aggressively pursuing a Big 12 invitation.
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Go to 12? If Louisville is No. 11, what school would be No. 12? BYU continually gets mentioned as a Big 12 target, but everything I hear -- and I mean everything -- from sources is "look east, not west" for the Big 12's 12th school.
If that's the case, Cincinnati would appear the most likely candidate as the 12th team, but the league hasn't seriously discussed a 12th member and the Bearcats have nowhere near the support of Louisville, making the move to 12 even more tricky.
So it would appear that the Big 12 is attempting to rival the ACC for BCS conference that can pick off the most Big East programs. To Louisville, I say please, please, please go to the Big 12. If for no other reason that I'd love to hear bloggin' Rick Pitino's asinine rationalizations about why the Big 12 is the best conference for Louisville after publicly calling out Syracuse and Pittsburgh, and BC, and UConn.
Should Louisville eventually wind up in the Big 12, there's also the question of what becomes of the Big East. Could Rutgers and/or UConn find their way to the ACC? What becomes of Notre Dame and their current home for non-revenue sports?
In other conference expansion news, the public release of the 2012 Big 12 football schedule will be delayed as West Virginia and the Big East come closer to a settlement as part of the two parties court-ordered non-binding mediation. And if the public release of the Big 12 schedule is delayed, you can bet the release of the ACC's 2012 football schedule will be delayed too, as the conference attempts to figure out what to do with Florida State's September 8 date with West Virginia.