The Big East Conference recently lost Pitt and Syracuse, and it might lose more schools by the time all is said and done, but the conference vowed to stay together at a meeting in New York Tuesday night.

[Big East commissioner John] Marinatto said all the league's members - including Notre Dame and the seven other non-football members - are committed to aggressively recruiting replacements for Syracuse and Pittsburgh, though he would not indicate which schools are candidates.

One recent report suggested that the Big East might be courting Navy and Air Force, which would be a massive downgrade from Pitt and Syracuse. If that's the sort of thing the Big East has planned here, then schools like West Virginia might, in fact, be better off following Pitt's lead and leaving. 

Marinatto also said that he will exercise his right to require Pitt and Syracuse to stay in the Big East until 2014, so there isn't necessarily any urgency to add schools right away. 

For more on the Big East, check out Big East Coast Bias.