The 2012 Cincinnati Bearcats football schedule has been released...

Thu., Sept. 6 PITTSBURGH (8 p.m., ESPN)
Sat., Sept. 15 Delaware State
Sat., Sept. 29 vs. Virginia Tech 1
Sat., Oct. 6 Miami (Ohio)
Sat., Oct. 13 Fordham
Sat., Oct. 20 at Toledo
Sat., Oct. 27 at LOUISVILLE (8 p.m., ESPN/ESPN2)
Sat., Nov. 3 SYRACUSE
Sat., Nov. 10 at TEMPLE
Sat., Nov. 17 RUTGERS
Fri., Nov. 23 USF (ABC/ESPN/ESPN2)
Sat., Dec. 1 at CONNECTICUT (ABC/ESPN/ESPN2)

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Tuesday, March 6 – First Round
(ESPN2/ESPN 3D)
No. 16 DePaul (12-18) vs. No. 9 Connecticut (18-12) - Noon
No. 13 Pittsburgh (16-15) vs. No. 12 St. John’s (13-18) - 2 p.m.
 
(ESPNU/ESPN 3D)
No. 15 Providence (15-16) vs. No. 10 Seton Hall (19-11) - 7 p.m.
No. 14 Villanova (12-18) vs. No. 11 Rutgers (14-17) - 9 p.m.

Wednesday, March 7 – Second Round
(ESPN/ESPN 3D)
DePaul/Connecticut winner vs. No. 8 West Virginia (19-12) - Noon
Pittsburgh/St. John’s winner vs. No. 5 Georgetown (22-7) - 2 p.m.
Providence/Seton Hall winner vs. No. 7 Louisville (22-9) - 7 p.m.
Villanova/Rutgers winner vs. No. 6 USF (19-12) - 9 p.m.

Thursday, March 8 – Quarterfinals
(ESPN/ESPN 3D)
8/9/16 winner vs. No. 1 Syracuse (30-1) - Noon
5/12/13 winner vs. No. 4 Cincinnati (22-9) - 2 p.m.
7/10/15 winner vs. No. 2 Marquette (25-6) - 7 p.m.
6/11/14 winner vs. No. 3 Notre Dame (21-10) - 9 p.m.
 
Friday, March 9 – Semifinals
(ESPN/ESPN 3D)
Thursday afternoon winners - 7 p.m.
Thursday evening winners - 9 p.m.
 
Saturday, March 10 – Championship
(ESPN/ESPN 3D)
Semifinal winners - 9 p.m.

*All games played at Madison Square Garden in New York, NY

PROJECTED WINNER: SYRACUSE (TeamRankings.com)

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The Cincinnati Bearcats (15-4, 5-1) continued their hot play by coming up a with a huge conference road win on Wednesday night at Connecticut, 70-67.  It was a huge win for Mick Cronin and his team and takes them to 5-1 inside the Big East for the first time since joining the conference.

“It’s a big win for us," Cronin said. "But you’ve got to win these kinds of games if you’re going to compete for the Big East championship.”

Next up the Bearcats is another road tilt at West Virginia on Saturday before they welcome top-ranked Syracuse to Fifth Third Arena in a Big Monday matchup.

Check out some of these developing trends for UC (courtesy Lance McAlister):

--UC has won 10 of last 11 overall
--5-1 Road
--UConn was 10-0 home this season
--Won 7 row on road in Big East
--Won 3 straight road vs Top 25 teams (1st x 1998-99)
--6-2 in last 8 vs Top 25
--5-1 Big East for first time since joining
--UC had 6 turnovers vs UConn
--Turnovers last eight games: 9,8,8,9,6,9,3,6  (Total: 58)
--Opp last eight games: 18,17,17,13,19,17,17,11 (Total: 129)

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Bill Koch pointed out an interesting trend going on in the Big East so far. Pittsburgh, the defending regular-season champion, is 0-4. Perennial powers Louisville (1-3) and Villanova (1-4) are off to rough starts. Meanwhile, UC is in third place at 3-1 behind second-place Seton Hall at 4-1. It made me take a closer look at the early standings (thur 1/12) from the basketball super conference:

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Don’t look now but since the Crosstown Shootout turned in the Crosstown Brawl, the Cincinnati Bearcats have won eight of nine contests, including a huge conference road victory over the 11th-ranked Georgetown Hoyas on Monday night.

That's the second road win against a ranked team already early in the conference season as they also won on the road vs. Pitt on New Year's Day. If the Bearcats can keep it rolling for the next two weeks they will take a huge leg up in conference positioning as they host Villanova then have back-to-back road tilts against Connecticut and West Virginia before welcoming Syracuse, who is currently ranked No. 1 in both the AP and Coaches Poll.

Here's a look at their recent run of success:

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The BIG EAST Conference formally announced the addition of five prestigious universities to its ranks today, bringing its football membership to 10 and securing a strong core group of FBS schools as it expands into two divisions and works toward its goal of staging an annual conference football championship game.

The University of Central Florida, University of Houston and Southern Methodist University have accepted full membership into the BIG EAST while Boise State University and San Diego State University will compete as members in the sport of football. The BIG EAST Conference Board of Directors, by a unanimous vote of its Presidents, extended the invitations for membership. UCF, Houston and SMU will begin competing in all BIG EAST-sponsored sports in the 2013-14 academic year, while Boise State and San Diego State will start competing in football in the 2013 season.

“Over the last 32 years, the BIG EAST Conference has constantly evolved along with the landscape of college athletics,” said BIG EAST Commissioner John Marinatto. “The inclusion of these five great Universities, which bring a unique blend of premier academics, top markets, strong athletics brands and outstanding competitive quality, marks the beginning of a new chapter in that evolution. We are proud to welcome these schools to the BIG EAST family.

COMPLETE RELEASE

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While the Big East considers its next move on expansion, it is now being asked to consider a plan that would create a nation-wide football conference incorporating between 28 and 32 teams in four divisions from Conference USA, the Mountain West Conference as well as the Big East...COMPLETE STORY (Boston Globe)

WEST
Boise State, Hawaii, UNLV, Nevada, Fresno State, San Diego State, Utah State (from the WAC) and San Jose State (from the WAC).

MOUNTAIN
Air Force, Wyoming, Colorado State, New Mexico, UTEP, SMU, Tulsa and Houston.

CENTRAL
Marshall, Memphis, Southern Miss, Tulane, UAB, Rice, Temple (from the MAC) and Louisiana Tech (from the WAC).

EAST
USF, Louisville, UConn, Rutgers, Cincinnati, UCF, East Carolina and Navy.

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Some headlines from around the web about the Big East and changes ahead...

BIG EAST EYES TO ADD SIX FOOTBALL SCHOOLS (ESPN.com)
The Big East will consider adding six more football-playing schools to get to 12 members in the wake of three departures in the last month, the league said in a statement Monday. Following a teleconference Monday morning, Big East presidents and chancellors authorized commissioner John Marinatto to engage in formal discussions with institutions it has targeted in expansion, and are considering expanding to 12...COMPLETE STORY

BIG EAST READY TO GO AFTER BOISE STATE (Boston Globe)
The Big East is apparently ready to make one final push to keep its embattled football league together. With the defections of Syracuse and Pittsburgh to the Atlantic Coast Conference, with TCU, who had been scheduled to join the league next season as a full member moving to the Big 12,and with Louisville apparently ready to join the Horned Frogs in moving to the Big 12, the Big East options seemed limited...COMPLETE STORY

AIR FORCE PREPARING FOR MOVE TO BIG EAST (Denver Post)
Get ready to kiss Air Force goodbye. The Mountain West Conference is on the verge of losing a charter member. The Falcons are looking to fly far away to save the Big East from disintegration, with the hope that fellow military academies Navy and Army will join them in the league. "Our interest is high in the Big East. That's fair to say," Air Force athletic director Hans Mueh told me Saturday. "This stuff is moving fast." He expects that the future of Air Force athletics will be decided by the end of October. The plan would have the Falcons joining the Big East only in football, while moving teams in other sports to the Missouri Valley Conference...COMPLETE STORY

NEW SCENARIOS FOR BIG EAST (Philadelphia Inquirer)
In one scenario, maybe even the leading/most sensible scenario right now, it could be good news for Temple and Villanova. Bear in mind that the scenarios can fluctuate faster than an Eagles' fourth-quarter lead...COMPLETE STORY

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Here are some good reads from around the web about the changing landscape of college sports...

Notre Dame should jump to ACC...and fast (Dan Wetzel, Yahoo.com)
If I’m Notre Dame today, and I see the Big East in mid-implosion, see that the ACC has essentially left a spot for me (temporarily) and see the long-term demographic trends for the Midwest, I’m spending the afternoon having a long, soul-searching look in the independence mirror. And then I’m starting negotiations to join the ACC, not the Big Ten, my persistent local suitor and the one everyone assumes I’ll eventually marry...COMPLETE ARTICLE

Pac-12's decision to stay at 12 schools a good thing (Richard Justice, Houston Chronicle)
For one day, sanity ruled. Whether it'll last for a decade or an hour is beside the point. What the Pac-12's announcement that it wouldn't be expanding at this time did was force Texas and Oklahoma to reconsider their options, and to perhaps do the right thing...COMPLETE ARTICLE

College football realignment not good for game (Woody Paige, Denver Post)
ColossalConferences. The Mega4ce. The Big 16, the Pac-16, the ACC 16 and the SEC Sweet 16. The Super Sixty-Four playing to de- termine a national champion in The GARGANTU1 BOWL! hat's incredible. That's inevitable. And Colorado State, Fresno State, Iowa State and Sam Houston State are powerless to stop the future state of college football...COMPLETE ARTICLE

Big 12 needs to say ‘bye-bye’ to Beebe (Sam Mellinger, Kansas City Star)
This should be it, then. No more. The Big 12 deserves a clean break, so stop the charade and move on. And this isn’t about ending the conference, though that day may be fast approaching. This is about ending the run of commissioner Dan Beebe...COMPLETE ARTICLE

Time for 'basketball' schools to unite? (Dana O'Neil, ESPN.com)
The conference stands at its most critical crossroads, with administrators from football-only members meeting in New York City on Tuesday night and other conferences eyeing the league for more raiding. The general consensus is that to survive, the Big East has to find other football schools to bolster its ranks. But what if there was another direction? What if, instead of becoming an Ellis Island for woebegone football, the Big East went back to its roots and formed a basketball superconference...COMPLETE ARTICLE

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from FOX19.com...

University of Cincinnati men's basketball head coach Mick Cronin has agreed to terms of a contract extension and will remain at the Bearcats helm. The new agreement will extend the term of Cronin's contract through the 2016-17 season. His guaranteed compensation will now be $1.25 million annually. The agreement is pending approval of the University of Cincinnati Board of Trustrees.

"I'm very happy to announce the news of this extension," said UC director of athletics Mike Thomas. "Mick Cronin has done an outstanding job over the past five years to rebuild the Bearcats program and return it to the NCAA tournament this year. I am excited about where he can take this program from here."

COMPLETE ARTICLE

***
MY TAKE: Mick Cronin is not an elite coach, but considering the cards that were stacked against him upon his arrival to the position and what he has been able to accomplish playing in the best conference in the country definitely justifies the extension. Cincinnati is not an elite job and taking a chance on another unproven is something that just doesn't make sense. It will be to see how much further he can take the program with the extra time.

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