Big East Announces New Conference Football Alignment

Added by Gregg Snyder on November 13, 2012.

Beginning next season, Rutgers and Connecticut will be part of the East division in the newly aligned Big East. (Photo Credit: ScarletKnights.com)

Big East commissioner Mike Aresco announced the new alignment for Big East football beginning next season. Rutgers has been paired up with some familiar foes.

Beginning in the 2013-14 season, the Big East will be separated in two divisions; East and West. The Scarlet Knights of Rutgers will be part of the East that will also consists of Connecticut, South Florida, Louisville, Cincinnati, and conference newcomer Central Florida.

For the most part, the conference was divided up by geographical locations. However there is an exception. Temple has been placed in the West division with Big East newcomers Boise State, Houston, SMU, Memphis, and San Diego State. I suppose the purpose was to keep some of the existing rivalries together in the East portion of the conference.

It is a little disappointing however. A yearly battle between Rutgers and Temple would have been fun for the schools, the teams, and the students. The close proximity of the two schools would have created a fun yearly rivalry. The conference has not announced it’s complete schedule structure however, so that is yet to be seen.

“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,” Aresco said.

Of course, the alignment may change rather quickly. Navy is expected to join the conference in 2015 and the Big East is currently seeking out a 14th football member to join that same season. Depending on what school that may be, more shuffling may need to be done.

Because of the new two divisions set-up, the Big East will have a conference championship game for the first time. The two division leaders will be matched up with the highest ranked team hosting the game.