By Dustin Dow
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Big East Conference members continue to weigh the issue of whether to split up their football and basketball schools as the league moves toward expansion.

Three presidents and two athletic directors from Big East football and basketball schools met Tuesday in Newark, N.J., to discuss the future of the league. It was the first time the sides came together since Miami and Virginia Tech announced their impending departures for the Atlantic Coast Conference in 2004.

The Big East did not disclose which schools took part in the meeting. The effects of any decision will be felt by the University of Cincinnati and Xavier University.

Once the Big East decides whether or how to split, Cincinnati and Louisville are expected to be invited to join the football-playing side. Depending on the makeup of the league, Xavier, Marquette, Dayton and DePaul are expected to join the Big East or a newly created league for basketball and other non-revenue sports.

"Today was another exploratory discussion conducted by some of our presidents and athletic directors," Big East commissioner Michael Tranghese said in a statement. "No decisions on our future structure were reached. Our presidents and athletic directors will continue to communicate regularly. No meetings that will include our full membership have been scheduled at this time."

Vacation schedules have prevented the Big East from getting all 12 school presidents at the same meeting to vote on or discuss expansion. Tuesday's meeting served as an exercise to get out in the open all the issues involved with expansion, with both sides, football and basketball, present.

Since June 30, when Miami and Virginia Tech made their announcement, the Big East's basketball-school athletic directors have held several conference calls among themselves; the football presidents and athletic directors met July 8-10 to discuss expansion.

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E-mail ddow@enquirer.com