It will be when that TV deal gets done. RT @bigpatky: @slmandel is it really? the Big East is now C-USA. It's not really an achievement.
— Stewart Mandel (@slmandel) November 27, 2012
If there was any question whatsoever about what matters most in college athletics, simply turn your attention to the conference that has nearly completed its complex strategy to expand to the east, west, south and north somewhat.
Today the Big East is expected to announce the addition of Tulane as a full member and East Carolina as a football-only member. Jason Kirk of SB Nation laid out what the Tulane move - of most relevance to us as basketball fans - means for the Big East.
Adding Tulane would give the Big East another major media market and a school with a good academic reputation, but nothing in the way of serious sports success (football has been to two bowls since 1987, and basketball hasn't made the NCAA Tournament since 1995). It would also add yet another mark on the very broad map that is the future Big East, expanding the whole thing even further away from the Northeastern basketball cluster it was born as.
If you were wondering what would become of the Big East with Rutgers departing and Connecticut and Louisville being prime candidates for the ACC, there you have it.
For more on the domino effect of Rutgers moving to the Big "Ten", check out our conference expansion storystream.