ESPN’s Andy Katz reported today that the Atlantic 10 is considering further expansion as conference realignment continues to shake up collegiate sports, citing a source “with direct knowledge of the situation” that says the league has discussed becoming a 21-team conference.
The Atlantic 10 has emerged as one of the conferences to benefit from the ongoing realignment, adding Butler and VCU to its ranks this year. This season, the A-10 has a 16-team field that will shrink to 14 after Temple and Charlotte depart at the end of the 2012-13 season.
The A-10’s interest would be piqued should high-profile Big East schools become available as that conference continues to change. Those schools include Marquette, DePaul, Georgetown, Providence, Seton Hall, St. John’s and Villanova. As the Big East continues to change, Katz reported that those seven schools are deciding “whether to split from the league” and that television deals are driving their decision. And the A-10’s new media rights deal is an attractive package, one that increases the league’s national profile significantly.
For the Atlantic 10, adding the new members would mean redesigning the format of the conference. Possible options include ” two 10-team divisions or a true 20-game conference schedule, with 10 home and 10 road games, by playing everyone once,” Katz reported.
