Our University of South Florida Bulls welcomed their new conference on Monday morning as the Big East officially became the American Athletic Conference.
The switch has been a slow one as a number of NCAA conferences realigned in 2011, leaving the Big East a big victim as the conference lost key teams to bigger name conferences including the Big 12, Big Ten, ACC and Mountain West.
And, if it weren't for a grant of rights signed by the ACC back in April - effectively preventing ACC teams from being snagged by other leagues, most notably the Big 10 - things could've gotten worse for the former Big East. Had the ACC lost more teams, lostanding Big East figures like UConn, Cincinnati and USF would've been prime replacement candidates.
But, this is no more as the new American Athletic Conference will remain intact with 10 teams for the 2013 season, which will be both Lousville's and Rugters' last after both agreed to join the ACC back in 2011. Lousville and Rutgers will be replaced by three Conference USA teams - Tulane, Tulsa and East Carolina - for the 2014 season, bringing the American Athletic Conference's size up to 11 teams.
The Big East's basketball roster will disband two ways with the Catholic 7 - DePaul, Georgetown, Marquette, Providence, St. John's, Seton Hall, and Villanova - forming the New Big East and the remaning teams forming the basketball arm of the American Athletic Conference.
We'll keep you posted as more news arises regarding the University of South Florida Bulls and their upcoming season in the new American Athletic Conference.
