By Dustin Dow
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Officials at Xavier University, the University of Cincinnati and the University of Dayton won't know if they will be invited to join new conferences until at least mid-August, when athletic leaders from the Big East Conference, in its current form, meet face to face.

Xavier and Dayton could join the Big East for basketball, and Cincinnati and Louisville could join a newly created league for football and basketball for the 2005-06 season if a proposed Big East breakup takes place.

Administrators at current basketball-only Big East schools say they won't discuss adding schools to their conference until they are sure Big East schools with football and basketball programs are going to break away.

In addition to Xavier and Dayton, Marquette and DePaul are expected to be invited to join the Big East if the football schools break away. But Seton Hall athletic director Jeff Fogelson said naming candidates for replacement is premature.

He added that the five athletic directors from the Big East's basketball-only schools haven't discussed replacement schools among themselves, to avoid operating in a clandestine fashion.

"We as a group have never discussed possible schools to join us," Fogelson said. "At some point, certainly, but not before a lot of other things are clearer."

Informal discussions among Big East athletic directors will continue until the entire group meets in mid-August.

A specific date for meeting has not been set because of scheduling conflicts during the summer months.

Despite the anxiety that exists at Big East schools, and on a larger level at schools such as Xavier, Cincinnati and Dayton, whose administrators are waiting for a decision, there can't be a rush to get a deal done, Fogelson said.

"We're more concerned about getting it right, than getting it done," Fogelson said. "The anxiety by schools that think they should be or could be a part of this, that's an unfortunate part of the atmosphere and a consequence of what is taking place. That is why we are being careful and upfront about what we're doing."

Meanwhile, administrators at Xavier, Dayton and Cincinnati can do little now, but wait.

Said Dayton athletic director Ted Kissell: "There is nothing more important going on for any athletic director whose institution has the potential to be affected by this."

E-mail ddow@enquirer.com