The Big East Is Now Holding Up Villanova

is the college basketball diamond of the Philadelphia area. The Wildcats have the Armani coach, Jay Wright, and every major high school basketball player wants to play there, for Wright, and in the Big East Conference, which has a big, fat television contract that gives exposure to the league’s premier players.

So when an offer to play Division I football was extended to Villanova last fall from the Big East, of which Villanova is a member in every sport except football, it seemed like a perfect fit. The Big East needed a tenth member in football, and Villanova seemed more than willing to accept the invitation. Villanova’s athletic department and administration began plunging money and countless hours into financial and academic feasibility studies for moving up from its current status as a Football Championship Subdivision (FCS or Division I-AA) program to a Division I or Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) program.

There was even physical evidence that Villanova appeared primed to make the move. Property was bought surrounding Villanova Stadium, done supposedly with the intention of building a football support building, which would have housed a state-of-the-art weight room, football offices, training facilities and a new upgraded office for Wildcats’ football coach Andy Talley.

Everything was in place. Or so it seemed. And while no one from Villanova was willing to speak up publicly about the move, the Radnor school did schedule April to make a formal announcement that the school would make the move to Division I, playing its home games at PPL Park in Chester, the Philadelphia Union’s 18,500-seat soccer stadium.

There seems to be one problem—the Big East, the smallest Bowl Championship Series (BCS) football conference looking to remain relevant that put the engagement ring on Villanova’s finger, has gotten cold feet. Yet, it was the Big East that asked for this marriage. The jilted lover role isn’t befitting Villanova. The school did everything it needed to do at the behest of the Big East. Villanova can’t exactly leave the Big East, because it would lose its valuable basketball brand.

So, everything remains in limbo—thanks to the Big East, not Villanova.

The school released a public statement that appeared on Patch last week, and the Big East also released a statement, coming from Big East commissioner John Marinatto:

“The Big East Conference and Villanova University have worked closely with each other over the past several months regarding potential football membership. We will continue with our due diligence process and work with Villanova to continue to share relevant information and materials. The Big East Conference obviously very much values its long-standing relationship with Villanova and we are committed to continuing to work with them on this matter in an open and forthright manner. Until there is additional information to report, the conference plans no further comment.”

Villanova President Fr. Peter Donohue also sent out a letter to school supporters about the delayed vote:

“We very recently learned that the Big East Conference needs more time to complete its due diligence regarding Villanova’s potential football membership. Without a clear and formal invitation from the Big East, we cannot proceed. We are now working with the Big East to provide whatever additional information and details we can. It is our hope that in the near future we will proceed with the Board of Trustees vote as planned."

There are some Big East schools that aren’t bubbling with enthusiasm over the prospect of Villanova entering the Big East. Rutgers, Pittsburgh and West Virginia are allegedly the schools in the way. There have been reported concerns about how a small school like Villanova, relatively speaking to West Virginia, Rutgers and Pitt, actually benefits the league. But another more serious underlying issue is that Villanova will be tapping into some of the fertile high school recruiting grounds in Southeastern Pennsylvania, and the Delaware Valley area that currently being mined by that trio of Big East schools.

Pottsgrove High School standout Terrell Chestnut is a classic example. The prized senior defensive back originally gave a verbal commitment to Pittsburgh, but when the school fired football coach Dave Wannstedt, Chestnut changed his mind. Once it was made public Chestnut was available again, Villanova showed interest, but West Virginia, Chestnut’s second choice originally, won out this time.

When Villanova came out with its announcement last week, president Fr. Peter Donohue supposedly had drafted two letters, one stating acceptance, the other if the process was delayed.

Now it’s limbo. And the fault doesn’t lie with Villanova. Just maybe Donohue gets a chance to use that other statement sometime in the coming months saying Villanova is a member of the Big East in football.