Big East Issues Statement on WVU to Big 12

Big East commissioner John Marinatto said West Virginia's move to the Big 12 wasn't a major surprise in a statement released Friday in reaction to the move.

Marinatto was still confident that in the coming weeks we will complete our own realignment program, adding a number of high-quality members to remain among the top conferences in both football and basketball.

Similar to situations with Pittsburgh and Syracuse, Marinatto said the conference is committed to enforcing the 27-month notification period for members who chose to leave the conference. That would mean West Virginia football won't be able to compete in the Big 12 until 2014. West Virginia released a press release on Friday saying it planned to join the Big 12 on July 1, 2012.

The New York Daily News reported on Friday that the Big East is expected to extend official invitations on Tuesday. The Big East is expected to invite Air Force, Boise State, and Navy as football-only members, while extending full membership to Central Florida, Houston, and SMU.

Louisville basketball coach Rick Pitino told ESPN that Marinatto was confident that all six schools would accept an invitation to join the Big East. Pitino is also strongly pushing for Memphis and Temple to get an invite, but the Big East is looking at BYU as the seventh expansion option.

Full statement:

This move by West Virginia does not come as a surprise. League officials, members of our conference and the candidate schools to whom we have been talking were aware of this possibility. We have taken West Virginia's possible departure into account as we have moved forward with our own realignment plans. West Virginia is fully aware that the Big East Conference is committed to enforcing the 27-month notification period for members who choose to leave the conference. We are confident that in the coming weeks we will complete our own realignment program, adding a number of high-quality members to remain among the top conferences in both football and basketball.