UCF is among a number of schools that could be on the radar if the Big East chooses to expand, according to the New York Post.
Big East Presidents and Athletic Directors will be meeting Tuesday in Philadelphia, and talks of a possible conference expansion will be discussed.
“The goal is to get the presidents’ blessing to seriously pursue teams,” said one Big East athletic director to the Post. “I don’t think we’re going to get pushback on that.”
The Big East has just eight of its 16-member schools that are at the Football Bowl Subdivision level. The Post is reporting that several school officials will push to expand the number of teams in conference to add more football schools.
The Post is one of many media outlets that have reported that TCU, who is ranked No. 3 in the new BCS poll released yesterday, is a strong candidate to move to the Big East. UCF, Houston, Temple and current Big East school Villanova are also on the radar of officials that are looking to expand.
Houston would add another big television market, but UCF is a school that also could add a good market along with top-of-the-line facilities and a quality athletic program. UCF’s current success, 6-2, during the football season along with the addition of quality basketball prospects could also help sway officials. The Knights recently received votes in both the Associated Press Top 25 polls (5) and the USA Today/Coaches’ Poll (13) after beating East Carolina 49-35 on Saturday.
An announcement could come as early as the end of the 2010 football season.
