Big East Expansion: If West Virginia Is Blocked, Will the New Teams Still Come?

If you’re a fan of high-profile legal battles, then you should be in for a treat with the recently filed lawsuit by West Virginia, which accuses the Big East of failing to keep the conference up to proper standards.

The Big East swiftly counteracted with a lawsuit of its own, claiming West Virginia needs to be held to the standards that were previously agreed upon.

There’s no doubt that the Mountaineers, who have just recently been accepted by the Big 12, are looking to jump off the Big East ship as fast as they possibly can. However, the only thing that’s stopping them from heading off to the Big 12 and reaping the benefits of the conference’s brand new lucrative television contract is the fact that they agreed to a 27-month waiting period that the Big East plans to strictly hold them to.

West Virginia has tried to use TCU, which was originally expected to join the Big East before switching courses and accepting an invite from the Big 12, as an example of why the school shouldn’t have to wait the 27 months since the Horned Frogs weren’t forced to. However, since TCU was never actually a competing member in the conference, that argument might not be all that useful.

No matter how it goes, the courtroom fisticuffs between West Virginia and the Big East will certainly have an effect on the future of this conference. You have to wonder how this will impact the decisions of the six schools—Air Force, Boise State, Central Florida, Houston, Navy and SMU—that will reportedly be invited by the Big East in an effort to save and stabilize the conference.

Will all of those six non-AQ schools want to join a league that’s in legal turmoil with its most prominent member or will they take a look at the Big East and see a conference that could be grasping for its last breaths?

The whole situation is still murky and there are still too many questions that need to be answered.

Will West Virginia be allowed to go?

What about Pittsburgh and Syracuse?

Will there be another exodus from one of the five leftover football schools?

Will Boise State actually make the move?

What about the conference's BCS bid?

Ultimately, we'll find out in the next few months if Big East Football is a dying brand or not, but right now, the conference is far from stable, and it will be interesting to see if this six-school strategy actually works out or not.