Big East coping with transition

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — The Big East Conference held its annual football media event at Giants Stadium yesterday.

A better venue would have been a few exits down the New Jersey Turnpike at the Newark airport because the league could use an air traffic controller to keep track of its arrivals and departures.

Miami and Virginia Tech have left for the ACC. Boston College is on the runway and expected to join the ACC next season. Temple will be expelled after this season for its continuing poor performance. Connecticut joined the football league a season earlier than scheduled. And Louisville, Cincinnati and South Florida will take off from Conference USA after this season and touch down in the Big East for 2005.

“To be honest, I don’t know who’s in the league anymore,” said West Virginia’s Adam Lehnortt, a senior linebacker. “It’s crazy right now. But it’s a conference, so we take pride in winning those conference games.”

The buzzword from coaches and commissioner Mike Tranghese yesterday was “transition.” The league is changing after losing its flagship football program, Miami, and perhaps its second best team, Virginia Tech. The two ex-members have won or shared 11 of the league’s 13 titles.

The Big East is clearly changing, but where it is going and whether it can recover from the devastating losses remains uncertain.

“Our path to where we are going is a lot more clear,” Tranghese said. “We were looking at the whole thing imploding last year.”

One sign of how far the Big East has fallen: about 100 writers attended yesterday’s session, a significant drop from recent years when Miami’s Larry Coker and Tech’s Frank Beamer were top draws. Another is the Mountaineers are picked to win the league and earn a spot in the Bowl Championship Series. That surely would not be the case if the Hurricanes were around to defend their four straight titles.

West Virginia is the only league team expected to begin the season ranked, and that likely will be outside the top 10. Connecticut, in only its third season of Division I-A football, is expected to be a factor.

The Big East continues its battle to stay relevant in college football, and hopes by cherry picking three of Conference USA’s top programs, it can distance itself from mid-major leagues like Conference USA and the Mountain West. The Big East was bolstered by a decision by the BCS committee in March to allow the depleted league to keep its automatic BCS slot, which guarantees the champion a top bowl and the league a $13million payday.

“The No.1 goal was to retain the BCS bid,” Tranghese said. “I think the presidents in the other leagues felt we deserve a chance to keep that.”

The Big East will be the weakest of the six BCS conferences that include the ACC, Big 10, Big 12, SEC and Pac-10. One reason the league kept the bid is the decision to add a fifth bowl game, meaning 10 teams will earn major bowl bids starting next season instead of eight.

However, without Miami, that BCS status could be temporary. Under BCS guidelines, a league’s champion must average in the top 12 of the BCS standings over a four-year period or is subject to review.

“Miami obviously has been the bell cow out front,” said West Virginia coach Rich Rodriguez, whose team won a share of the league title last season. The Mountaineers ended their season with a 41-7 loss to Maryland in the Gator Bowl.

“Perception-wise, we have to prove this is not just a basketball conference. It is a football conference with very good teams. As programs, over the next two or three years, we have to establish that.”

While the BCS issue is resolved, there are other Big East questions to be settled:

• The television deal with ABC and ESPN is in arbitration after the broadcast companies wanted to renegotiate the contracts because of less interest with the loss of Miami and Virginia Tech. The Big East had received some $15million a season from the deal.

• Boston College’s status sits in a Boston court. The Big East passed a rule following the loss of Miami and Virginia Tech that exiting schools must give 27 months notice and pay a $5million fee. The criteria had been two months and $1million.

BC is suing the league, claiming the new out clause was not in effect when it gave notice last October. In theory, the Eagles could be forced to stay in the Big East through 2006-07. However, a settlement likely will be reached and Boston College will join the ACC next season.

• Miami and Boston College still are being sued by Big East members Pittsburgh, West Virginia, Connecticut and Rutgers for conspiring to destroy the Big East.

Despite the legal processes, the league will open Sept.2 when Boston College visits Ball State. The Big East is not the power it used to be, but participants believe the conference will remain relevant.

Notes — Boston College was picked to finish second, followed by Pittsburgh, Syracuse, Connecticut, Rutgers and Temple.

Tranghese did not back down from harsh statements toward the ACC last year when he called Miami’s departure “the most disastrous blow to intercollegiate athletics in my lifetime.” Yesterday the commissioner added, “All the things I have predicted have occurred. It has caused a great deal of consternation. … We are educational institutions. Maybe I’m naive. If operating behind people’s back to get more money is what you have to do, I just don’t get that. It’s a bad message. I think the public looks at us and says it’s just a business. … My whole point is the process.”