[August 30, 2011] The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review John Harris column Tweet Aug 30, 2011 (The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- How good of a football conference is the Big East? When will Big East football teams be on par with basketball? One year? Five years? Never? Does the Big East stack up favorably against the SEC, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-12 and the ACC? Ask Brian Kelly, Randy Edsall and Rich Rodriguez, who left good coaching jobs at Cincinnati, Connecticut and West Virginia for better ones at Notre Dame, Maryland and Michigan, respectively. Or ask first-year Pitt coach Todd Graham, who arrived at Pitt from Tulsa for the "best opportunity I've had in my life." How refreshing to hear Graham describe coaching in the Big East as a destination and not a stopover. "I think it's a very good league," Graham said Monday. "It's a very, very good league, very, very competitive. I'm very impressed with the talent level." What else is Graham going to say? That he took the Pitt job until something better comes along? Here's the bigger question: Can Pitt -- with Graham at the helm -- dominate the Big East so that any talk of a possible move to the Big 12 becomes just that -- talk? On Saturday, Big 12 university presidents discussed potential replacements if Texas A&M leaves the conference for the SEC. According to the New York Times, Pitt, Notre Dame, Arkansas and Brigham Young were mentioned. To be fair, the Big East was created as a basketball league. Big-time football at several member schools remains an afterthought. Graham didn't sugarcoat why the Big 12 makes sense as a potential destination for Pitt in football. There aren't enough competitive football teams in the Big East -- at least not when compared with the top-to-bottom talent featured in the Big 12. Not that it will happen, but let's suppose that Pitt left the Big East for the Big 12. The quality of football would increase if Pitt made the switch because it would be playing in the same conference with Texas and Oklahoma, the nation's No. 1 team in preseason polls. "I think one of the challenges in the Big East is we have the small amount of football schools," Graham said. "There's such parity that each year there's a different team winning the conference and there's not really a dominant team that's emerged. "If you have 11 or 12 teams, it's a lot easier to have one or two teams emerge with 10, 11 or 12 wins." There are eight football schools in the Big East -- nine when you include TCU, which is scheduled to enter the league next season. Georgetown, St. John's, Marquette, Villanova, Seton Hall, Providence and St. John's don't play major college football. Notre Dame remains an independent. The Big 12 features 10 teams after the defections of Nebraska to the Big Ten and Colorado to the Pac-12. The total drops to nine if Texas A&M departs. I simply can't fathom Pitt leaving the Big East for the Big 12. For one, Pitt basketball coach Jamie Dixon would be immensely displeased. Dixon wouldn't go to the Big 12 willingly. He might even consider taking one of those jobs that he seemingly turns down every offseason. Granted, a Pitt move to the Big 12 would be done to enhance the football program more than the basketball program. For that reason, Graham would probably be more receptive toward a move to the Big 12 than Dixon. "As far as comparing (the Big East) to the major conferences, that's tough for me to do," Graham said. "We're right up there. But as a conference we need somebody to step up and have a big year and go undefeated or have an 11-1 type campaign. I think (that) will help our conference tremendously." The door is open for Graham, whose team is picked No. 2 in the Big East behind West Virginia in the league's preseason poll. Whether it remains open or shut depends largely upon Graham, whose refreshing idea of a dream job could elevate Pitt football to new heights in the Big East. ___ (c)2011 The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review (Greensburg, Pa.) Visit The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review (Greensburg, Pa.) at www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib Distributed by MCT Information Services [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]