For years, Villanova has had a "standing invitation" from the Big East to play football in the conference in which it competes in all other varsity sports.
But the Big East "officially informed us that its football schools were interested in adding Villanova as a football member of the Conference," Villanova president Peter Donahue said Friday in a letter to alumni.
What's the difference?
As the sands keep shifting in college sports, as conferences realign - adding or losing members, the Big East is trying to protect its flanks. The window is open for Villanova now, but it could close. The school is expected to give the conference an answer around the end of the year. If 'Nova decides to stay put in the Football Championship Subdivision (formerly Division I-AA), expect the Big East to look elsewhere for an extra member.
That suggests another wrinkle. Several college sources said that Temple, a former Big East football member before it was booted out of the league after the 2004 season, has been mentioned as a potential member now that the Owls are winning games in the Mid-American Conference. On Sept. 3, in the opener for Villanova and Temple, 32,000 fans saw the Owls beat the Wildcats in a last-minute, back-and-forth thriller.
The Big East would not be interested in both Villanova and Temple, those same college sources said. The Wildcats are at the plate now. The overture to Villanova, the defending FCS national champion, is considered a preventive move in case the Big East loses a member - if the Big Ten comes calling for Rutgers, for instance
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A number of Villanova sources said it is difficult to forecast whether Villanova will take the leap to Division I-A. One source said Villanova spends about $5 million on football now, including scholarships, with about $1 million in revenues. Scholarships would go up from 63 to 85, with another 22 scholarships needing to be added to women's sports to meet Title IX requirements.
Big East schools "probably spend between $10 million and $15 million" on football but get most of that back from television revenues. Still, many of the conference football programs do not operate in the black, a Big East source said.
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