Skip to main content
Come Fan with UsSaturday, June 20, 2026

Big East Expansion: 12 Team Model Preferred By Current Football Schools

On a day in which the Mountain West and Conference-USA announced the merger to a mega conference, the Big East has decided that it prefers the 12-team model rather than a 22-team model. Pete Thamel of the New York Times tweets that the Big East has agreed upon six teams to add to the conference to bring the total to twelve.

Just landed. A lot has changed. Most important is that that possibility of a Boise-Big East marriage has increased greatly. The agreed upon 12-team model preferred by Big East is now: Boise, Air Force, Houston, SMU, Navy and UCF.

While all of these are solid editions to the Big East, a couple aren’t very “east” but it does make the word “big” very literal. Boise State is in Boise, Idaho and Air Force is in Colorado Springs, Colorado. The other additions in SMU, Houston, Navy, and UCF all make perfect sense to add as they are smaller football programs on the rise. Adding them to a BCS conference should only help their growth.

For more, check Mountain West Connection and Big East Coast Bias. Stay tuned for more conference realignment news.

See More:
Could C-USA move to 16?Could C-USA move to 16?
By Rodger Sherman
JMU likely replacing WKUJMU likely replacing WKU
By Matthew Fairburn

More in General

GeneralFromPosting and Toasting
An SB Nation New Yorker needs our helpAn SB Nation New Yorker needs our help
GeneralFromPosting and Toasting
General
Sabastian Sawe breaks 2-hour barrier, shatters marathon world recordSabastian Sawe breaks 2-hour barrier, shatters marathon world record
General

The mythical two-hour mark was broken at the London Marathon.

By Bernd Buchmasser
A Huge Dog
THE HISTORY OF CHARGING THE MOUND, EPISODE 1THE HISTORY OF CHARGING THE MOUND, EPISODE 1
Play
General
Super Bowl 60 coin toss resultsSuper Bowl 60 coin toss results
General

The Seahawks and Patriots will open the Super Bowl with the coin toss to determine who starts with the ball. We have the full coin toss results for Super Bowl 60.

By David Fucillo
General
Marc Marquez completes a comeback for the agesMarc Marquez completes a comeback for the ages
General

MotoGP’s Marc Marquez completed a comeback for the ages with his 2025 title

By Mark Schofield
General
How to make sure SBNation.com appears in your Google search resultsHow to make sure SBNation.com appears in your Google search results