The Big East needed to come to terms with reality....They are no longer a big boy. They were never going to be able to keep any team in their league that had an offer from one of the big boys, so get over it, let them go when the offers come and think outside the box. There should have been 2 main objectives:

1- Become the clear and away leader of the gang of five in football! (i.e. destroy the MWC, your only competition).
2- Maintain your status as an Elite Basketball conference. (i.e. don't invite crap like Tulane and ECU)

Challenges: You have to create a presence in the west, but travel is a huge issue, how do you deal with it? There aren't that many great schools left, how do you avoid diluting your conference with crap teams?

SOLUTION!

Imagine a conference like this:

8 West coast schools

BYU
BOISE ST
UNLV
SDSU
NEW MEXICO (this could be Air Force, CSU, or SMU, I chose NM, because of basketball strength)
HOUSTON
GONZAGA (non football)
ST MARY'S (non football)

12 East coast schools (thus the big east name still has some meaning)

UCONN
CINCINNATI
SOUTH FLORIDA
TEMPLE
MEMPHIS
VILLANOVA (they have a great FCS football program and could make the jump like UCONN did with their brand, I think they could be good in a few years, this keeps balance in the numbers, and we avoid diluting the conference basketball)
+REMAINING CATHOLIC 6 (non-football)

The best (of the rest) 6 west coast and 6 east coast football schools (3 cross division games a year for exposure and to create the only national conference with minimal travel) conference championship game at higher ranked team's field. This is the very best BYU could hope for without an invite to the BIG 12, and if that ever comes, we go!

For Basketball you haven't diluted your brand so the Catholic seven stay and are happy, and you have added some of the best teams on the west coast, and enough of them to accomodate all the olympic sports with minimal travel. Gonzaga and St Mary's join because they want to be affiliated with east coast catholic 7 and they can do it now with minimal travel. Imagine the first 2 rounds of the tournament are played in Vegas (just the west coast schools, while the east coast schools are reducing their 12 to 2 in New York) then you have the final 4 in Madison square garden 2 west vs 2 east for championship! How awesome would that be!

So I sigh....If only the Big East had a Brain and an imagination, we all would be better off!