Big East official release on football division format

BIG EAST’S ARESCO ANNOUNCES FOOTBALL DIVISIONS,

CHAMPIONSHIP GAME, STARTING IN 2013

CHICAGO – BIG EAST Conference Commissioner Mike Aresco, emphasizing his conference’s national scope, announced that East and West divisions of six teams each in football will begin play in the 2013 season, culminating in a new BIG EAST Championship Game.

"This new alignment gives the Conference and its fans the best of both worlds – national exposure that is a result of the BIG EAST being in six of the top 10 U.S. media markets – with a schedule that focuses on spirited regional rivalries," said Aresco.

The BIG EAST Football Championship Game will be played between the East and West champions at the home field of one of the participating teams, not at a neutral site, promising an exciting fan experience.

"This unique combination of nationwide scope and regional flavor reflects our commitment to innovation in response to the changing landscape in college football," Aresco said, "while honoring a tradition of success on the field and in the classroom."

Aresco continued: "Combined with the extension through 2026 of our historic relationship with Madison Square Garden for the BIG EAST Basketball Championship, the new BIG EAST Football Championship Game will provide two signature events of national significance in college sports."

The new divisions will be:

East Division

UCF

Cincinnati

Connecticut

Louisville

Rutgers

USF

West Division

Boise State

Houston

Memphis

San Diego State

SMU

Temple

Aresco noted that this alignment will likely be revisited after the 2014 season, when the U.S. Naval Academy and possibly other schools begin play in the BIG EAST.

In this new structure, each team will play eight Conference games per season, of which five will be against divisional rivals. The home and away opponents for each school will be announced after the BIG EAST athletic directors’ annual meeting in New York on Dec. 3.

Big East football divisions approved, East-West format with Temple in West division

Cincinnati President Santa Ono just Tweeted a picture containing a layout of the future Big East football divisions. As has been reported, there will be an East-West format with Temple being the geographical oddity playing in the West division in 2013 and 2014. Once additional expansion occurs and Navy joins the league in 2015, the divisions will likely change a little and it's hard to imagine Temple staying in the West. However, for now, that's where they are.

For ease of travel and for the sake of rivalry development, it's easy to see the logic in keeping Houston-SMU, Louisville-Cincinnati, USF-UCF, Boise State-San Diego State, and Rutgers-UConn in the same divisions. If there are permanent opponents, I wouldn't be shocked to see Memphis-Louisville be designated as such. The others will be hard to predict.

News flash.Check out the just approved Big East FB Divisions. Cincy in right division and on top :-) twitter.com/PrezOno/status…

— Santa J. Ono (@PrezOno) November 13, 2012

Big East Football: Conference set to announce divisions for 2013-2014.

The Big East will expand to 12 teams for football in 2013 and with it will split the football conference into two divisions. They'll announce a basically geographical division model later today.