Yes - that's the key. All sports membership. I've been talkinga bout all sports conference in the Northeast since day 1 around here. Lots of people have wanted it, big time people in big places, but big east basketball has muddled it all up for a long time, and were stuck trying to piece together a nationwide conference at this point.
You need 8 programs in any single year to be an official 1-A level conference. That means you need to field at least 11 or 12 or something sports. Football is the key here obviously, with basketball, but there are another minimum of I think 10 sports that must be carried. This is why Notre Dame is such an issue.
I think the only basketball/catholic that qualifies is ducking Notre Dame. Which forever on forward henceforth to me will always be labeld and known as ducking Notre Dame.
I really hope, that once this all is done, the conference expands significantly and most importantly, above all else, sets up an entirely new leadership for football schools only, and that the league divides in half.
Make it a three branch leadership. Football and all sports besides basketball. Basketball (men's and women's) for everybody, and then a separate olympics for the catholics that don't meet 1-A qualifications.
I jsut don't think that one conference commissioner is going to be enough to manage what the big east seems to working toward.
Two divisions in the conference along natural lines (division 1-A football, and catholics) and a 12 team football only conference.