Conference Expansion: Memphis In Talks to Join Big East in 2013

Things have been quiet in the conference expansion world for a while now after what seemed like months and months of talk and speculation as to who would go where.

But it looks like business may be picking up again.

ESPN is reporting that Memphis is closing on a deal that would allow them to exit Conference USA and join the Big East in all sports starting in 2013.

This is a great move for Big East basketball simply because of what they are losing. With the likes of Syracuse, Pittsburgh, and West Virginia leaving, the conference needed to land a strong program like Memphis to at least heal the wounds a little bit.

Of course, Memphis isn’t going to solve all of the Big East’s problems. It’s one quality program trying to replace several quality programs. I mean, let’s be real here. The Big East is losing a lot in the whole conference expansion deal.

However, after all the chaos that took place several months ago, this was pretty much the best option the Big East had left in terms of basketball.

We’ll wait and see what happens with this deal. And as always when it comes to conference expansion, more deals could be in the works.