Conference Expansion: BYU Made Right Move Staying Away from the Big East

On Tuesday, ESPN.com reported that Brigham Young has ended negotiations with the Big East and will not become a member of the conference.

Smart move, Cougars.

The Big East Conference is simply in trouble.  West Virginia is leaving for the Big 12 in 2012, unless they are forced to stay until 2014, and Syracuse and Pittsburgh are also making a switch, moving to the Atlantic Coast Conference in 2014.  As a result, the Big East has been in a frenzy to add new members, and it was reported that Brigham Young would be at the forefront of this possible expansion.

However, Brigham Young is staying put where it is as an Independent, and why not?  The Cougars have had success promoting themselves as "the Notre Dame of the West" this season.  Additionally, BYU has a solid television contract with ESPN. There's no point in moving unless it is a great opportunity (cough, cough, Big 12, cough, Pac-12, cough cough).

The Big East's plans to form a "Western Division" in the conference seem to be falling through.  Boise State and Air Force are skeptical about joining and rightly so.  CBSSports.com also reported Tuesday that San Diego State will be the next target of the Big East.  If that were not enough, there have been rumblings of Colorado State being in talks with the Conference.

Is it just me, or does Brigham Young, Boise State, and San Diego State being in the Big EAST sound silly?  One of the main points of having conferences in college athletics is so teams do not have to travel far distances for road trips.  Brigham Young being in the same conference at South Florida, Rutgers, and Connecticut makes just as much sense as the Bowl Championship Series (very little).

With a conference in so much peril and uncertainty, almost any team would be stupid to join the Big East, especially teams in the West.  It's likely Connecticut, Louisville, and Rutgers could be making conference swaps soon too.  You don't need a crystal ball to predict the demise of the Big East.

I wish the best of luck to you, Big East, but maybe you should just fold football and concentrate on basketball.  You've always been more of a basketball conference anyway.