The Big East Conference is looking to expand in the latest round of conference realignment and it appears the league may look to Conference USA for some of its new members.

A person familiar with the conference's expansion discussions said that several C-USA schools are being considered as targets for the Big East including the University of Houston, SMU and Central Florida.

"UH is absolutely in the mix," the person said on condition of anonymity. "SMU is in the mix. Air Force is definitely in the mix.There's a lot of people that like Central Florida."

On Monday, Big East commissioner John Marinatto issued a statement on Monday after a conference call with the league's presidents on realignment issues, indicating that the league could expand to as many as a dozen football schools.

"On a teleconference earlier today, our Presidents and Chancellors authorized the Big East conference to engage in formal discussions with additional institutions and are considering moving to a model that includes 12 football playing schools," Marinatto said in the statement.

UH officials were unavailable for comment.

Nick de la Torre

According to the person with knowledge of the Big East's discussions, Houston is attractive to the conference for several reasons: recent football success, attendance at home games in recent years and the aggressive fundraising that the athletic department has done in an effort to upgrade athletic facilities.

UH has raised $60 million towards a new football stadium, which is projected to cost $120 million and would be built on the site that Robertson Stadium currently sits. The stadium would initially be able to seat 40,000 and would be expandable to 50,000 in a future construction phase. There are also plans for a $40 million renovation of the school's basketball arena, Hofheinz Pavilion, after the football stadium is addressed.

"People see UH as having turned the corner a little bit," the person said.

Recruiting is also a positive for UH. Having games in Houston, which is a fertile area for high school football talent, would be attractive to Big East schools, the person said.

The Big East, which has lost Pittsburgh and Syracuse to the Atlantic Coast Conference effective in 2014 and TCU- which was to join next year- to the Big 12 on Monday, is looking to add members to better its chance at keeping its BCS status. The Boston Globe reported on Monday that Marinatto and other representatives have contacted C-USA commissioner Britton Banowsky to indicate its interest in Central Florida.

The person with knowledge of the Big East's discussions said it's difficult to put a timetable on when the Big East will extend invitations but that it's moving "fairly quickly."

sam.khan@chron.com

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