If I'm one of those 9 schools I am all over that, although I'm not sure Temple would be included.  The Big East as it stands is an unwieldy mess.  When conferences get that big the rivalries get lost in the muddle.  If you are a football school it's not such a big deal but if you are one of the basketball only schools it is one big fat mess.

I've always thought that the Big Least b-ball league would crumble under its own weight.  The WAC had expanded to a similar 16-team league and the original 8 or so teams complained that old rivalries were lost.  That's how the MWC came to be.  I think having all teams in a conference participate in all sports helps players and fans alike better recognize conference rivalries.  When some schools participate only in football or basketball, it's often hard to get fans in particular revved up for the game.  Some Ohio fans, for example, still don't know that Temps is in the MAC for football.  I'm sure that some folks at the old Big Least schools that are still in the league (G'town, Nova, Seton Hall, St. Johns, Providence, UConn, Rutgers) still have difficulty remembering that the likes of DePaul, Marquette, and even L'ville, Cincy, ND and USF are part of the league.  The instability of the Big Least through the years -- losing such schools as BC, VT, Fiami(FL) in the past -- may be at the root of their problems.