Pirate Notebook No. 309 Monday, June 18, 2007 By Denny O'Brien

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All Rights Reserved.

If you read anything into the rhetoric from a few influential Big East figures, it's easy to conclude that the league eventually will increase its football membership.

While the presiding question might be when (not if) expansion will occur, the criteria, how many and exactly who aren't far behind. And those answers aren't easily identified.

Comprehensive comparisons, bean counting, and mudslinging politics are certain to play their part. School presidents are sure to entertain marketing pitches and phone calls from AD's and governors from along the East Coast.

But in the race for seats at the BCS buffet, PowerPoints and videos don't earn a spot at the table. Too much is at stake for the Big East to pursue hypothesized glitz over proven pedigree.

That's why Commissioner Mike Tranghese and his trusty disciples must strategically pinpoint the fitting criteria and fine tune the details within it before arriving at their choices.

Market first and foremost should drive any league's expansion direction. But that doesn't mean that the equation can be oversimplified by size.

The Southeastern Conference has one of the most lucrative television contracts in all of college football, and is filled mostly by schools from smaller markets. Its success on the field no doubt is the primary reason for the hefty TV revenue, but residing in a region where college football reigns supreme also ups the price.

Adding a city in which the majority of its residents lack interest — see Central Florida — just doesn't make sense. What's good in adding sets when the local viewers are firmly focused on Florida, Florida State, Miami, and Mickey Mouse?

A market's value also should extend further than its television impact. The importance of adding uncharted recruiting waters can't be overstated.

Culture is perhaps the most overlooked denominator in any expansion process. If that weren't the case, Virginia Tech would have been the ACC's first choice — not the conditional candidate that made the league's expansion desires possible.

The Big East should seek schools with cultures that rival Virginia Tech when it joined the league years ago. Back then the Hokies were an upstart program that hadn't quite maximized its potential.

Big East membership more than provided the incubator for the Hokies to fully emerge, and programs with Tech-like credentials — a proud tradition, fans who travel, and abundant television exposure — have plenty of appeal.

Problem is, most of those schools already have security in a BCS sanctuary. But that doesn't meant there aren't viable candidates from non-BCS leagues who boast some or all of those desirable qualifications.

Here's a crash course look at four who should top the Big East's list:

— East Carolina resembles the old Virginia Tech more than any candidate on the list. The Pirates possess the most intriguing football culture, one defined by a solid history of success and a die hard constituency that is a favorite among bowl officials.

ECU's longstanding philosophy on scheduling boldly offers extensive opportunities for TV appearances beyond any league's guaranteed package. In most years, that could equate to exposure that doesn't count against the Big East's negotiated quota.

Market size no doubt could be viewed as the Achilles' heel, but that's only if conference officials rely solely on those misleading Nielsen numbers. By adding ECU, you're essentially adding a state in which college sports reign supreme — and the only school within it where football is king.

North Carolina and Tidewater Virginia also offer underexploited recruiting potential. Not to mention that the region makes a nice bridge between the Big East's northeastern roots and its Florida extension.

— Memphis is a major metropolitan area and the Tigers (the Volunteers aside) are the big game in town. Despite the presence of an NBA franchise, the local university grabs the headlines and attention of most local sports fans.

Tennessee to the core is a football culture and Memphis is drenched with potential. The possibility of a new stadium and close proximity to both Arkansas and Mississippi make for expansive opportunities along the recruiting front.

Though Memphis has zero appearances in the Liberty Bowl, the university and the game have an outstanding relationship. It's no stretch to suggest that Lady Liberty could follow Memphis.

— Army and Navy provide the perfect package deal. Both are national programs with wide-ranging interest and built-in bowl affiliations that could be added to the Big East's postseason package.

But perhaps no addition is more attractive than the annual game between the Black Knights and Midshipmen. Few regular season match-ups compare to that Civil War, and its eventual inclusion in the Big East TV lineup automatically drives the network bidders higher.

And though location doesn't matter nearly as much as it once did, there's something to be said about fitting firmly within the league's geographic footprint.

Of course many will suggest that increasing the Big East's football membership to 12 won't add much — if anything — to each school's financial coffers. In the end, that might be the case.

But creative marketing and shrewd negotiating could generate enough cash flow to more than compensate for the additional mouths to feed. That places the planning and preparation stages of the selection process at a premium.