Big East cancels meeting with Mountain West, Conference USA

The Mountain West source said he didn’t know if the Big East intended to reschedule.

Mountain West commissioner Craig Thompson and Conference USA chief Britton Banowsky were in New York to meet with television partners, and had planned to sit down with Big East commissioner John Marinatto.

The Gazette in Colorado Springs, Colo., reported Marinatto and associate commissioner Nick Carparelli instead met with Air Force officials in Colorado Springs.

The Big East appears more interested in luring Mountain West football teams and schools elsewhere than discussing a merger with the MWC and Conference USA.

The Big East, however, could be forced to the negotiating table if it appears it doesn’t have the criteria to maintain Bowl Championship Series automatic qualifying status beyond 2013.

Little is clear about the Big East’s future.

West Virginia appeared on the verge of leaving that conference for the Big 12 and, according to CBSSports.com, even had a news release ready to go.

But Louisville made an apparent politically backed power play, and The New York Times reported the Big 12 is divided between Louisville and West Virginia. Either way, the Big East would be down to five football-playing schools.

So the Big East is looking hard at adding Boise State and Air Force as part of a big effort to get to 12 football teams. But Boise State and Air Force won’t come cheap – the Mountain West would impose exit fees of up to $21 million on the Broncos and up to $9.6 million on the Falcons.

The Mountain West and Conference USA will merge into one football league either next year or in 2013, and if they can convince the Big East to go along for a 28- or 32-team conference, that combination could be enough to gain automatic BCS status.

But for now, the Big East appears to have little interest in such a conglomeration.

Contact reporter Mark Anderson at manderson@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2914. Follow him on Twitter: @markanderson65.