The Big East is officially a mid-major. Not that it’s a surprise, but the agreement on a TV deal with ESPN for $130 million over seven years seals it.  

It’s becoming harder and harder to continue to be a fan of college sports and perhaps more difficult to follow the ever-changing landscape of the supposed amateur athletics. By the time this story hits the printing press, the Big East could be even smaller.   

During the nine days between the Oct. 24 announcement that Whit Babcock had accepted the offer to become the athletic director of the University of Cincinnati and the day he started on Nov. 2, West Virginia became the third Big East member to leave the conference.  

The University of Cincinnati’s conference future is beginning to look a lot like its conference past, and that’s not a good thing. Last week Memphis accepted a bid to the new-look Big East, which is suddenly starting to resemble the old Conference USA.  

More than once during his 16 years coaching the University of Cincinnati basketball team, Bob Huggins remarked that the Bearcats are written off locally before they're written off nationally. A case in point might have presented itself just three days after the Bearcats beat Huggins to enhance their chance for a return to the NCAA Tournament.  

Imagine the scene in a week. Nancy Zimpher is leaving, Bob Huggins is returning, Fifth Third Arena could be full and the University of Cincinnati's basketball team could be headed back to the NCAA Tournament. Can it be that the more things change the more they stay the same? Of course not.