November 19, 2012;College Par, MD, USA; Big Ten commissioner Jim Delaney speaks during the Big Ten Press Conference at Adele Stamp Union. Mandatory Credit: Evan Habeeb-US PRESSWIRE

Multiple outlets across the internet are propogating rumors that indicate the Big East is soon to go the way of the dodo bird and the WAC. West Virginia was fortunate to escape this sinking ship when they did.

Following the departure of WVU, Pitt, Syracuse, Notre Dame, and TCU, the Big East turned to Conference USA and the Mountain West to poach together a patchwork conference of misfits. The Big East membership has grown to or will soon grow to include:

• Football Only: San Diego State, Boise State, Temple, and Navy
• All Sports: Louisville, Cincinnati, Memphis, Houston, SMU, UCF, USF, Connecticut, and Rutgers
• Non-Football: St. John’s, Georgetown, Marquette, DePaul, Providence, Villanova, and Seton Hall

The recent revelation in conference realignment is the jump by Maryland to the Big Ten to be followed by the highly anticipated announcement that Rutgers will follow suit tomorrow and also join the Big Ten. That is just the tip of the iceberg with the rumored Big East defections.

Major news outlets like ESPN have speculated that the ACC would be likely to replace Maryland with a school like Connecticut, which would take the current Big East slate of football schools down from 12 to 10 for the 2013 season, costing the Big East the opportunity to host a championship game.

With the anticipated plundering of the Big East set to begin, many news outlets have been quick to jump on the rumors surrounding the doom of the Big East. Defection rumors include the following:

• The New York Daily News reports that Georgetown and St. John’s are considering jumping from the Big East to the ACC.
• ESPN is reporting that Boise State, San Diego State, and BYU are all in discussions to rejoin the Mountain West.

There are also the typical unconfirmed rumors that Louisville could be the target for the ACC instead of Connecticut and the possibility that the Big 12 might preempt the ACC and invite the Cardinals. If you stack up all those rumors, the Big East could be facing the possibility of their soon to be 13 team football league shrinking to 9 (Rutgers to Big Ten, UCONN/Louisville to ACC, Boise State and San Diego State to MWC), keeping in mind that Navy plans to join in 2015.

If all those rumors pan out, that would also reduce two of the top three targets for further Big East football expansion (BYU and Air Force). The loss of Georgetown and St. John’s would effectively open the door for the remainder of the non-football members to look at their options for new conference homes in the ACC, Atlantic 10, etc.

Of course, half the conference realignment rumors will never materialize, but with so many rumors floating about and no media rights deal in place, all signs point to the Big East collapsing. The next few months will likely determine the future of the Big East, if there is any future at all.

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Recently, I reached out to Greg Swaim for an interview regarding the saga that’s WVU attempting to escape the Big East Conference for the greener pastures of the Big 12. However, there’s a big court battle because BE Commissioner John Marinatto is acting like the batsh*t-crazy, clingy ex girlfriend.

Swaim has been very accurate on WVU’s move to the Big 12, and seems to have “inside information” regarding when WVU will move to the Big 12 (spoiler alert: 2012), when the lawsuit will be settled, and which schools are next on the Big 12′s wish list.

A little bit about our guest, from his website: Greg Swaim is the director of BigTime Sports, the BigTime Tournaments and the Greg Swaim Recruiting Service, a national recruiting service subscribed to by over 600 Men’s and Women’s College Programs from all levels across the country. Swaim hosts the daily syndicated Greg Swaim Radio Show, in which he hosts many of the top names in sports and the BigTime Sports Television Show. Swaim also regularly makes guest appearances on over thirty radio stations across the country. Greg is also a member of both the U.S. Basketball Writers Association (USBWA) and Football Writers Association of America (FWAA).

Without further ado, we now go to our interview with Mr. Swaim, after the break. We’d like to thank Mr. Swaim for taking time out of his busy schedule for doing this interview with us.

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The game was tied at 13 early in the first half of play but the Mountaineers were able to extend the lead to 51-24 at the half. Rutgers was able to get within 10 to start the second half of play, but wouldn’t get any closer.

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The Rutgers University football team was fired up to play yesterday. You could see the team bouncing around in the tunnel. You could see the fire in the eyes of the players, coaches, and fans. The elements on this day didn’t matter. There wasn’t a storm in the area that would ruin the return of Eric LeGrand.

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First half was bloody atrocious. Questionable play calling (though I figure this was Coach Dana Holgorsen’s first snow rodeo) and a defense made of swiss cheese had WVU down 31-21 at halftime, and many WVU fans scratching their heads and shaking their heads in disgust. However, at the near-end of the first half, the refs obviously didn’t spot the ball when it was brutally obvious that WVU was in a “hurry-up” situation.

Second half, as has been the storyline most of the season, WVU emerged from the depths of a scoreboard deficit and went on to shutout Slutgers in the 2nd half, winning 41-31.

After the jump are the stats, and my hand-picked game MVP’s.

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Get ready, Mountaineer fans, for the visit to New Jersey. Has anything good come out of New Jersey since Bruce Springsteen, Bon Jovi, and Da’Sean Butler? This week, Slutgers is on the schedule.

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Notice all of this realignment points to Austin, TX with UT and their TV network?

Other conferences, namely the SEC and the ACC, are not going to sit idly by and watch. They’re going to expand their operations, too. In business, you must expand in order to succeed. Same for college football conferences. Expand to succeed. More after the break.

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