Memphis Officially Becomes Newest Member of Big East for 2013 Season

The University of Memphis Tigers are going to officially be members of the Big East Conference starting in 2013, according to a press release obtained by the staff of College Football Talk

According to the release, it seems that both sides are ecstatic about the marriage.

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“Over the past decade, the University of Memphis has demonstrated an unwavering commitment of competing at the highest level in college sports,” said Big East commissioner John Marinatto.  “The University has positioned itself for long-term success by upgrading facilities and investing wisely in various areas of the athletic department including coaching and administration.  We are confident that the addition of this outstanding athletics program located in a top 50 media market and in the heart of the nation’s largest conference footprint will further propel the BIG EAST and the University of Memphis to even greater levels of success in the future.”

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Memphis, along with Houston, UCF and SMU, is now part of the push to add schools from the southern United States to the conference.

These four colleges will be joining all their sports to the conference.

When the Tigers jump aboard, it will open a recruiting base in a new region for the Big East and heavily benefits Memphis as well.

Memphis can now work on legitimizing their awful football program in an automatic qualifying conference while getting a fresh start on rebuilding their basketball legacy 

It's important to note that the Big East is set to drastically change in the next few years, as longtime members Pittsburgh, Syracuse and West Virginia are all on the way out.

Pitt and ‘Cuse are trying to leave by 2013, while the Mountaineers are hoping to jump ship to the Big 12 before the 2012 season begins.

These losses are tough, but it looks like the conference is going to be just fine now that they added Memphis.

It’s also worth pointing out that Boise State, San Diego State and Navy are preparing to make the jump into the Big East for football-only purposes

Perhaps losing three schools turned out best for the Big East. It’s certainly going to be interesting to see how the conference shapes up over the next few years.