College Football Conference Realignment: 3 Candidates for Big East Expansion

With the announcement of Pittsburgh and Syracuse leaving the Big East, there were immediate questions about the stability of the Big East Conference.

It appears that the Big East is safe, and that they will look to expand after Pittsburgh and Syracuse leave the conference concluding the 2014 season.

The time frame gives the conference plenty of time to weigh options and discuss different candidates to replace the teams. In fact, the conference could actually expand with even more teams.

Here are three candidates that could possibly join the Big East.

1. East Carolina Pirates

The Pirates have made it clear that they are interested in a conference shift.

On Tuesday, the university applied to join the Big East. They could actually be one of the most likely candidates that the conference considers.

In terms of attendance, East Carolina ranked above Rutgers, Cincinnati, Connecticut, South Florida and Syracuse last season.

2. Villanova Wildcats

Earlier this year, it appeared that Villanova was getting extremely close to joining the Big East. The talks have since died down.

With this sudden change, those could start back up.

Villanova is already a member of the Big East in college basketball and the addition of the football team would give the Big East a market in Philadelphia.

The current FCS team may struggle early at a competitive level, but this could pan out to be a great move if the conference wants to take a chance on an FCS team.

3. UCF Knights

Out of all the teams that are a possible candidate, Central Florida is clearly the best in terms of on-field performance.

The Knights would immediately be a contender for the conference championship in year one.

The only reason that the Big East may hesitate to add Central Florida to the conference is because of the current membership from South Florida.

The Bulls may not be too pleased with another Florida team joining the conference.

I don't see why it would matter. It could make for a great rivalry.