Voices of the Big East is an ongoing feature intended to capture the essence of the conference through the words of those involved and those impacted. This will come in the form of quotes, Tweets, videos and anything else we feel like sticking in here. It’s perfect for you multitasking short attention-spanners. If you find something you think is a candidate for this feature send it to us and we might even give you credit!

The Bigger East

It was formally announced on Wednesday that the Big East will welcome in five new members in an effort to reshape given the upcoming departures of Syracuse, Pittsburgh and West Virginia.

The Name Game:  Big East Commissioner John Marinatto on whether the conference’s name will change in-kind with its new geographic composition:

We have not contemplated a name change. If a conference called the Big Ten can have 12 schools, a conference called the Big East can have schools that are not necessarily in the East.

Getting Down to Business: Marinatto on the new-look Big East as a television draw:

We think that’s a very powerful model as we move forward in our upcoming TV negotiations, initially with ESPN eight months from now, because it provides something that no other conference in the country can represent. So we’re excited about that prospect.

Do NOT Pass GO (for 27 months anyway): Marinatto says Syracuse, Pittsburgh and West Virginia still need to honor the Big East’s exit clause.

This will have no impact on the schools to fulfill the 27-month requirement in the bylaws. It’s simply a matter of respecting the bylaws since they were part of writing the bylaws. There is an agreement amongst our schools that any early departure would do damage to the schools remaining and two of our schools indicated that they respected that process.

No Runs, No Drips, No Errors - Well, the Other Court Will Decide That Last Part (Credit: Caleb Wygal)

Mountaineers Painting the Town, OK the Floor: West Virginia appears to be confident they will not need to wait out the 27-month Big East exit period.  Either that or they had some extra Krylon around and decided to prepare.  After all it is a practice floor.

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