While West Virginia and Louisville -- and its respective politicians -- vie for the right to put yet another nail in the Big East’s coffin, the conference continues its efforts to stave off what’s looking like an inevitable football extinction.
Air Force officials, Frank Schwab of the Colorado Springs Gazette first reported Wednesday night, met with their counterparts from the Big East Wednesday. The discussion, which took place on the grounds of the Colorado Springs service academy, lasted over two hours and was described as informational in nature by the Falcons’ athletic director.
The gist of the conference’s presentation? "[W]hy they think the Big East is a good fit for the Air Force Academy,” spokesperson David Cannon told the Gazette.
"[Academy superintendent] Gen. Gould said, ‘We’ll give this a real thorough thought process,’” Cannon said. “’You’ve given us a lot of information to think about and consider as we make a decision on what’s best for our cadet-athletes, the Air Force Academy and the Air Force.’”
No official invitation was extended by the Big East to the Air Force during the meeting.
Air Force, if they make the move, would take their football program to the Big East while shifting their other sports to a conference other than their current home, the Mountain West. The academy is one of six schools the Big East is attempting to woo: Boise State and Navy for football only, Houston, SMU and UCF in all sports. Should West Virginia or Louisville -- or both, as the current sentiment seems to suggest -- leave for the Big 12, the likes of Temple, East Carolina and Memphis could be added to the Big East’s to-do list.
The six schools on the Big East’s initial invite list minus Air Force met with Big East officials in Washington D.C. over the weekend.