Marinatto hits for cycle with Memphis Deal

It was back on Nov. 1 of 2011 that Big East Commissioner John Marinatto suggested that losing West Virginia, Pittsburgh and Syracuse to the Big 12 and the ACC respectively, wasn't the end of the world for his league. He may have been alone that day in holding to that view.

Today, with Memphis officially joining the Big East as of the 2013 season, he's gained believers in his wheeling, dealing ways.

Memphis has been trying to upgrade its conference affiliation for years and indeed applied for membership to the Big East during its last major expansion in 2005. Their basketball program was more than competitive in Conference USA but their football prospects were fairly meager.

R.C. Johnson, who counted Miami University among an earlier career stop as athletic director, is determined to return the Tigers brand to prominence across the board. Marinatto sees the fit as a no-brainer for his own reasons: it's geography, it's Central time zone, it's corporate and community support and facilities.

UC fans can certainly hearken back to the days of Dana Kirk among others who went toe to toe against Bearcat coaches from Tay Baker to Mick Cronin. Cincinnati owns the series record at 36-31 but the Tigers have won the last four outings. That unenviable string will be in play as of fall 2013 and fans will be the big winners.