Domino affect hits conferences

NEW YORK -- The Big East finalized its expansion plan Tuesday, inviting five schools to help rebuild the conference after defections of three key schools to the ACC.\nCincinnati, Louisville and South Florida will join the league in 2005-06, while Marquette and DePaul will join for all sports except football.\n"It's a very exciting day in the history of the Big East. We are thrilled to be joined by five great institutions," Big East commissioner Mike Tranghese said.\nThe Big East acted after losing football powerhouses Miami and Virginia Tech, as well as Boston College, to the ACC earlier this year. The conference needed to make three additions for football to maintain its Division I-A status.\nThe other football schools in the league will be Connecticut, Pittsburgh, Rutgers, Syracuse and West Virginia.\nConference officials hope the new league will be attractive enough to keep its automatic berth in the Bowl Championship Series. The current BCS contract expires after the 2006 bowls, and negotiations for the new contract will begin in a few months.\nThe expansion also gives the Big East one of the most powerful basketball conferences. Marquette, Cincinnati and Louisville all made the NCAA tournament last year, with Marquette reaching the Final Four.\nAlong with the five remaining football schools, Big East basketball will have Georgetown, Notre Dame, Providence, St. John's and Seton Hall in a 16-team conference.