Now the Big East conference is officially in its death throes. It's hard to feel any anger towards West Virginia over the move, just envy. Rutgers, West Virginia, and Pittsburgh led the fight over the summer to drag the Big East kicking and screaming into the twenty-first century. John Marinatto and co. responded by saying, "no thanks, we're good. By the way, you have to add Villanova or else." The Big East made its intentions loud and clear, which is why its basketball conference will soon be nothing more than a glorified Atlantic 10. Football rules college athletics, and any party unable or unwilling to acknowledge that will inevitably be trampled. Now the next domino in the ongoing reshuffling is Notre Dame, which conceivably could go to the Big XII, Big Ten, or ACC. Once they decide, the Big East formally dies, and any remaining Big East football schools learn their ultimate fate. Update: here's Mark Blaudschun talking up Notre Dame joining the ACC for everything but football, and UConn being #16. This scenario does not jibe with the ACC's public comments against federated membership and unequal revenue sharing.