The format of the Big East conference is set to change for the next football season, splitting into two divisions.
By Haley O’Shaughnessy–
The format for scheduling the 2013 and 2014 football seasons’ conference games has been declared, as of last Tuesday.
It will go something like this: two divisions within the conference, East and West. If the names east and west were not indicative enough, the divisions have been decided geographically, but also with rivalry and tradition in mind.
“This alignment gives the conference and its fans the best of both worlds,” Commissioner Mike Aresco said. “It gives national exposure that is a result of the Big East being in six of the top 10 media markets…a schedule that focuses on spirited regional rivalries.”
With that in mind, football-wise, the East will consist of the University of Central Florida, University of Cincinnati, University of Connecticut, Rutgers University, University of South Florida and our very own University of Louisville. The West has been split into Boise State University, University of Houston, University of Memphis, San Diego State, Southern Methodist University and Temple University.
The conference schedules will consist of playing every team within that own team’s division, and then three teams from the other division.
Choosing who would play who in the three interdivision games has yet to be specified.
There was also talk about what would happen when the Big East expanded in 2014, likely adding two teams. It is proposed that then, the two divisions would be looked at again and remade into blue and red divisions. This time, the grouping would not deal with location, but instead bear first and foremost rivalry and publicity in mind. It would work similarly to the east and west set-up, with a few tweaks.
ESPN analyst Brett McMurphy said, “Each team would play six games within its division and two games against the other division, including one permanent cross-division game. The annual cross-division games would be Cincinnati-Louisville, UConn-Rutgers, Boise State-San Diego State, Houston-SMU, Navy-Temple, UCF-USF and Memphis versus the 14th team.”
It is reassuring to know that even if and when the East/West divisions dissolve, Louisville will always keep the Keg of Nails rivalry in tact against Cincinnati.
Also, let us rejoice that Louisville will be in the red division, because it seems almost unbearable to involve the Cards in anything blue.
