After Monday's news that the Big East Conference is re-considering adding the Villanova football program as its 10th football-playing member, league fans are now asking: If not Villanova University then which program will we add?
One program, the University of Central Florida, is extremely interested in being that 10th member.
"Even the brainless should be able to see that adding UCF to your league is a no-brainer," wrote Orlando Sentinel columnist Mike Bianchi on Tuesday. "You're talking about the second-largest university in the nation; a university smack dab in the middle of a college football state and recruiting hotbed; a university in a top 20 TV market; a university that already has a built-in rivalry with Big East foe USF, which is located in a nearby but separate top 20 TV market; a university that has invested hundreds of millions of dollars in not only building an up-and-coming football program but in building a big-time athletic program."
Back in early November, before the addition of the TCU Horned Frogs, SB Nation New York thought that Villanova and UFC were the front runners for the two new slots in the Big East. Back then, 'Nova was just about a lock considering that all it needed to do was convince its board members that moving from FCS to FBS was a good idea -- which it was -- and also because it also was a member in men's basketball .
Now, that it seems that 'Nova could become an afterthought if it doesn't find a solution to its small venue problems, UCF, as Bianchi mentioned, could now be the front runner for the Big East final addition.
"UCF has a new on-campus football stadium that seats 45,000 and can easily be expanded to 60,000," says Bianchi. "It has the new Nicholson Indoor Practice Facility. It has a new basketball arena. It is the only school in the country to have its football, basketball, baseball, women's soccer, men's soccer and women's indoor track programs ranked at some point this season."
It is still very possible that the Big East and Villanova football could work out their issues, but if you're a UCF football fan your program is in a perfect position to finally get that BCS break that its has been looking for.
Come back to SB Nation New York for more updates on this situation.