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PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. -- The Big East spring meetings wrapped up Wednesday with little fanfare. Here are some final notes from the meetings.

Notre Dame athletic director Jack Swarbrick said he was committed to keeping his Olympic sports in the Big East, after Texas athletic director DeLoss Dodds told CBSSports.com that Big 12 conference reps have had discussions with the Irish as far back as 2010. Interim commissioner Joe Bailey was asked if he had a response. I think this is the best quote of the week.

"They've been doing it since 2010? It hasn't worked," Bailey said.

Swarbrick also added he was confident that the details of a future four-team playoff would be worked out June 20 in Chicago. But just how Swarbrick and all 11 conference commissioners arrive at the ultimate answer will provide plenty of drama.

Bailey said search firms will be interviewed next week to help assist in finding the next commissioner of the league. The Big East is looking to fast-track the process to get somebody in place as quickly as possible. The three-to-four month timetable remains unchanged, though the sooner the better.

He added that the collective group did not really discuss what they are looking for in the next Big East commissioner.

"I'd say to you that there's always the definition of an effective leader -- on balance, that's what you're looking for," Bailey said. "Someone that can take the conference and continue to move it forward over an extended period of time. You're not looking for an individual that would be some sort of caretaker but somebody who would be able to grow with the conference itself. You're going to find an enormous number of capable people interested in a position like this."

Welcome to your mid-week mailblog! Let's get to your questions.

John in Louisville writes: AA, I know you report on the conference as you see it, and you have provided stats that prove that the BE is as good if not better overall than the ACC. So my question is, why do you think that the "perception" in the national sports media is that the BE is not as good? Neither conference has a consistent national player, and we have won more bowls than the ACC, games that seem to carry more weight nationally.

Andrea Adelson: The fact that the Big East has been raided twice in the last 10 years is a huge reason why. Miami was a national power at the time. Virginia Tech has been incredibly successful and so has West Virginia. College football, perhaps more than any other sport, holds onto its history and tradition. People do not look at the facts so much as the teams. Cincinnati? C-USA. Louisville? C-USA. I could go on, but you get my drift. This is still a conference in search of an identity. The ACC has programs that have at least won or played for national titles. That may have been in the way past. Unfortunately, that trumps recent success in the minds of many.

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Zain in Tampa writes: Hi Andrea, you wrote a really interesting article recently about a potential on-campus stadium for USF. As a recent grad for USF, I'd like to explain a few things about the situation that we've seen as a USF community. Firstly, we're not likely to build an erector set stadium for $70M dollars. We're a large research school in a major football conference. It wouldn't make any sense whatsoever. That sort of stadium would only be built if we were desperate, much like UCF was when the Citrus Bowl was basically rotting in on itself. Most USF fans I know have pointed to the recently built stadium at the University of Minnesota as an example of a stadium they feel would be a great fit for USF. The downside to such a stadium is the cost. Minnesota spent close to $300M on their facility and they also had state assistance. We are not likely to get anywhere near the type of aid that Minnesota got as a state flagship school. The only money we can expect is an investment fund that invests a certain amount of money per credit hour with the state and is returned every four to five years for on campus projects. The total amount expected from that fund should be between $15 to $20 million. As you can guess, a new stadium is a 10 to 15 year commitment. As much as it would nice to see you reporting from Bulls Stadium, you might be waiting a while for it, Andrea.

Adelson: It is nice to dream, right!

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David in Santa Barbara, Calif., writes: Is the new helmet rule nation-wide, or just the ACC?

Adelson: Nationwide. I got the information at the ACC meetings, so I figured I would post it onto the Big East blog for fans to familiarize themselves with these changes. They were also discussed during the Big East meetings in Ponte Vedra Beach.

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Rickey in Lehigh Acres, Fla., writes: Andrea! Why did you have to start giving USF some love again? We've shown over and over that we can't deal with these expectations. LOL. I really hope you're right this time.

Adelson: I was really hesitant about moving up the Bulls. But on paper, they have the most starters returning; a four-year starter at quarterback; and a coach going into Year 3. Every single Big East team has major question marks. I thought USF had fewer unknowns, so I moved the Bulls up. Now we see if this is the year.

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James in San Antonio writes: Hey Andrea, with news that the Big 12 and SEC will be playing in a bowl, what, if anything is the Big East plus Notre Dame doing to secure an anchor bowl. It looks like the Big East and ACC are the 2 conferences left out. Wouldn't it make sense for the Big East Champ or Notre Dame to play the ACC champ in Orange Bowl? Please tell me that the Big East is working on something, anything, for their main bowl.

Adelson: The Big East can want the partnership. The question is whether the ACC and Orange Bowl would be onboard with that, particularly when you look at recent attendance/TV ratings in matchups between the two leagues in that bowl game. Securing a BCS tie-in and reworking its bowl agreements are priorities for the Big East. But the league is probably not going to be able to do anything until the future BCS system is arranged.

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Frank in Philly writes: AA, Any word on Montel Harris? If he comes to Temple, would that get them out of the basement in your preseason rankings?

Adelson: No word, Frank. And I'm afraid his addition will not move Temple out of the basement. I'm more concerned with depth on the lines than the quality skill players for the Owls.

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Brad in Louisville writes: Was Louisville's Coach Charlie Strong present at the Big East meetings this week? According to Andy Katz, Rick Pitino was nowhere to be found on the basketball side. I'm interested to know what role, if any, U of L played last week given the rumors that they are moving on to the Big 12.

Adelson: Yes, Strong was here, along with athletic director Tom Jurich. They were actively a part of the meetings as the Big East tries to move forward all together. What you hear are rumors only. Louisville is a member of the Big East.

Rutgers coach Kyle Flood discusses with Andrea Adelson some of the hot topics at the Big East spring meetings.

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. -- Notre Dame athletic director Jack Swarbrick said Wednesday that the school remains committed to the Big East for its Olympic sports, despite a recent report indicating that Texas AD DeLoss Dodds has reached out to gauge the program's interest in joining the Big 12.

Swarbrick dismissed the report, saying, "It's a mistake to treat this as some sort of pitch by DeLoss. We're two people who talk frequently and talk about where we think this business is headed and who's doing what. We've talked about playing each other more, scheduling each other in other sports. It's a conversation that's had all of those elements to it.

"No one should have an impression where there was a point in time where DeLoss was making a pitch to Notre Dame. It's been a more collaborative, collegial discussion about the 2 schools and how we can do more together."

Spring meetings are wrapping up today, so the Big East chat has been moved to Thursday at 4 p.m. Hope to see you then!

• The demolition of Memorial Stadium at UConn has begun.
• Lindy's college football preview has Louisville in the Orange Bowl.
• Dan Samuelson changed his commitment from Pitt to Nebraska.
• Former Rutgers football player Pat Kivlehan won Big East Player of the Year in baseball.
• Skip Holtz's son will walk on at Texas.
• Junior college commit Wayne Williams talks about why he picked Syracuse.
• Why Bill Bradshaw of Temple should be athletic director of the year.
• John Marinatto made about $600,000 as commissioner in 2010.

Houston coach Tony Levine discusses his team's move to the Big East in 2013.

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. -- USF coach Skip Holtz delivered some encouraging news during the Big East spring meetings -- starting defensive tackle Cory Grissom is on pace to return for the start of the season.

Grissom broke his ankle during the last week of spring practice, and there were fears the injury could cost him some significant playing time. But after undergoing surgery and beginning rehab, Holtz said Grissom should be medically cleared Aug. 1. If there are no setbacks in his rehab and recovery, he should be able to play Sept. 1 against Chattanooga.

"He’s coming along well," Holtz said. "The swelling is going down, and he’s able to get on the bike and do some exercise things. One of the concerns was his weight that when he comes out of this he’s not 340 pounds and now it takes us a month to get back down to playing weight because of how much he would be limited with his exercise with the injury to the ankle. But he’s doing a great job keeping his weight down, he’s able to get on the weight and do some cardio things to keep his weight down. To this point, there have been no setbacks."

The tricky part will be handling Grissom during training camp. USF will take its time with him, to be sure it can get him up to speed with plenty of time to go before the season begins. All that will depend on how he handles getting back into practice.

"We’re going to have to be careful because we’re not going to be able to take him from 0 to 60 Aug. 1," Holtz said. "We’re going to have to slowly get him back in. Maybe we’ll take him through individual work for a week and no team stuff. Then the second week of camp, maybe we’ll let him do some 1-on-1s. Maybe the third week, he can get into inside drills or half line and hopefully when we get into our season, we’ll have been able to gradually get him back into it.

"He may get into it and at one point it, may start to swell and he may have soreness and we’ll have to pull back. Then you go a little slower with it. We’re going to have to see. It’s not the bone we’re worried about. It’s the ligaments and making sure that the ligaments come back strong enough and healthy enough and we don’t push him too early."

It is well documented that coaches leave the Big East -- in less than graceful ways.

But I contend that nobody left their program more in the lurch than Todd Graham at Pitt.

What he did was cold and callous, resigning after he was not given permission to interview at Arizona State last December. Refusing to open the door when Pitt officials came knocking. Sending out a goodbye text to his players, the very ones he sold on honor, loyalty, trust and commitment. Now, this does not make him different than many other head coaches, who say one thing today and are gone tomorrow.

What makes his situation different are the circumstances surrounding his departure. Yes, Greg Schiano left Rutgers in the lurch for the Tampa Bay Bucs, less than a week before signing day. But he had been at Rutgers for 11 seasons and built a successful program on his own. Maybe you overlook some of the more unsavory details about the way he left because you can appreciate what he did while in New Jersey.

Graham? He stuck around for one miserable 6-6 season. He did nothing but hurt Pitt. Because his one-year tenure left the Panthers looking for their fourth head coach in a two-year span. No other program has had to deal with that type of coaching turnover. Most importantly, no player has had to deal with that type of coaching turnover.

If college football is supposed to be about the student-athlete experience, then I cannot imagine anybody at Pitt can say they have had an unbelievable time when you consider the drama.

Dave Wannstedt recruited this group of seniors. Then he got fired after delivering a share of the Big East title. New coach Mike Haywood came along from Miami (Ohio). He was then fired after less than three weeks on the job after an arrest on domestic violence charges. In came Graham, who arrived selling high-octane football in a blue-collar Pennsylvania town. Was he all about the Pitt student-athletes?

Not if you consider billboards around the city with his face on it. Not when you consider the way he criticized his players for failing to pick up his prized system. Not when you consider the way he treated quarterback Tino Sunseri. It was always about Graham, which is why he ultimately left. The job was a mistake, he says now. His kids did not like Pittsburgh, he says now. Yet during the season, his wife proudly posted photos of herself and her kids in Pitt jerseys before games and practices.

He failed Pitt, and he failed his players, who came out on Twitter to blast him publicly for the way he left. Not one player ripped into Schiano. That shows you the big difference between the two.

Now, the Panthers players have to start over again. Sunseri has to learn his third offensive system in three years. Who can blame him for being slow to pick it up this spring? Changing playbooks once in four years is hard enough. Doing it three times in three years is almost too much to ask. Credit the Pitt players for not complaining about the lot they have been given.

They are happier to have new coach Paul Chryst, a man who at least seems to want to put roots down in Pittsburgh. He is going back to the way Pitt likes to play offense, another positive step. If hindsight is 20/20, Pitt should have just hired Chryst instead of Haywood when it had the chance. Instead, the Panthers went through an unnecessary and overly straining rigmarole.

Pitt is hoping all that is in the past. It cannot afford to have another coach leave it in the lurch yet again.

Pitt backup fullback Derrick Burns was hospitalized Tuesday and is in stable condition with an undisclosed medical condition, the school announced in a statement.

Burns was complaining of headaches at his home and taken to the hospital, where he is undergoing further evaluation.

The redshirt sophomore has played in one game, the BBVA Compass Bowl against SMU. He is competing with Mark Giubilato for the starting fullback position.

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. -- Last May, Bill Stewart joined his colleagues at the Big East spring meetings to tackle league business and catch up with old friends.

One of them, Cincinnati coach Butch Jones, was particularly saddened by the news of Stewart's sudden and tragic passing Monday. When Jones took a job as receivers coach at West Virginia in 2005, Stewart was there as quarterbacks coach. The two grew close in the two seasons Jones spent with the Mountaineers. They then had the opportunity to face each other on opposite sidelines as Big East head coaches.

"Just one year ago, he was sitting in the meetings with us and we were sitting on the beach together talking," Jones recalled Tuesday. "Things like this put things into perspective in all aspects."

Here is the way Jones will remember his good friend:

You think of Bill Stewart the man and how much his wife Karen and his son Blaine meant to him. The best word that describes him is family man. They were everything to him. That was first. Him and I have been through a lot of wars together on the same team and also competed against each other. He was an individual of high integrity. We had that special bond from the positions we coached, and our friendship really grew. He was one of the guys who took me under his wing. He was a mentor to a lot of people. A father figure but extremely competitive. He had a love and passion for the state of West Virginia and that university. He used to talk about the old blue and gold, so I will always think about the passion and the affinity he had for Morgantown and the people in that community.

USF coach Skip Holtz also shared his fondest memory of Stewart.

He’s one of those guys that when you would have a big win, your phone would ring and it would be Bill Stewart. But the thing that makes Bill so classy is when you had that heartbreaking loss, your phone would ring and it would be Bill Stewart. I have great respect for him not just as a football coach but as a man and the way he handled everything. We lost one of the good people in this business, without a doubt. Thoughts and prayers go out to his family and the entire West Virginia family because he was a special individual.

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. -- Let's recap what happened at the Big East spring meetings Tuesday.

• The Big East will play its championship game at on-campus sites, doing away with an idea former commissioner John Marinatto had to play the title game in New York. The plan is to begin the championship game for the 2013 season, at the home of the highest-seeded team. Before arriving at the decision, the league reached out to the Pac-12 to get a gauge for how they liked having an on-campus title game last year. "The proof was in the pudding," senior associate commissioner Nick Carparelli said.
• The league remains committed to an eight-game league schedule, though that was not discussed at the meetings this year. Some of the biggest reasons why the Big East is not moving toward a nine-game schedule like the ACC: coaches like the balance of having four home/four away league games; they want to have four nonconference games of varying difficulty; and they believe it also helps increase their chances to become bowl-eligible.
• Future bowl tie-ins were not a huge topic, but there will be consideration to expand the Big East reach to bowls in Texas and out West because of its incoming members. "None of the bowl games are going to make any agreements until they see what happens at the top of the bowl system," Carparelli said. "There will be no shortage of interest in the Big East in terms of bowl games given our new geography."
• Carparelli will join interim commissioner Joe Bailey at the next round of BCS meetings in June. The Big East has a preferred idea in mind for a future playoff, with consideration given to conference champions. The Big East also wants some sort of rankings system used to determine the four-team playoff, not a selection committee.
• Potential divisions also were discussed. Here is more on that.

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. -- Big East football coaches and athletic directors heard a number of proposals for divisional alignment during spring meetings Tuesday.

Three specifically that got some attention -- a north-south alignment; an east-west alignment; and non-geographic alignments that focused on splitting the Florida schools, the Texas schools, and the West coast schools. There was no consensus in the room, but coaches were intrigued with some of the proposals.

"We’re far from coming up with a preferred format at this time," senior associate commissioner Nick Carparelli said. "A couple concepts that emerged -- (coaches) had a strong desire to protect the ability for fans to see as many of the games as possible. They want to make sure they maximize their value for television, and protected and promoted as many rivalries as possible."

"Who was in each of those divisions was irrelevant at this point. We were looking for conceptually which direction they wanted to head. So the next step is to put models together, we’ll probably put dozens of models together about what their home-away rotations might look like under all those scenarios so they can make a further evaluation."

There had been some early talk that Temple would be in a West Division. Coach Steve Addazio said he would have no problem if that scenario ended up being adopted.

"That’s all yet to be determined," he said. "You know what, honestly? It’s a great opportunity for Temple, and however we can fit this thing in for us, we’re thrilled. That’s really how I feel about it. It all works. I can’t wait to play some of these teams."

Carparelli said further analysis would happen between now and Big East media day in Newport, R.I., at the end of July. The league also will reach out to its television consultants to see what gets the most value for a future TV deal.

A decision must be made before the summer ends.

"The best thing we did is we defined our strengths as a conference. Geographically, that’s one of our strengths to be able to go from the Western portion of the United States to the East Coast. So how can we make the conference work within the geographic boundaries we have?" Cincinnati coach Butch Jones said. "We didn't reach conclusions, but we defined a lot of that."

The Bulls' coach weighs in on some of the hot topics discussed during the Big East spring meetings.

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. -- There are plenty of questions surrounding the Big East headed into the summer. One, of course, is who will be the next commissioner?

I took a quick sampling from a few Big East coaches to see what they want in the next leader of the league. Here are a few responses:

Skip Holtz, USF: Somebody that’s going to have the vision, the leadership, the communication to do what’s in the best interest of this league moving forward. I’m excited. From a selfish standpoint, you’d like to have somebody with a football background … but I don’t think that’s what’s going to be mandated or required. I’m just looking for somebody with the leadership skills and strength to come in and run this league and do what’s in the best interest of the members involved.

Butch Jones, Cincinnati: Leadership. Vision, and also it’s, to be proactive. We have great institutions within the Big East Conference. We have a great philosophy on and off the field, with the institutions involved and where we are with the TV market, it’s a great product. We’re more competitive now than we have ever been. We made great additions to the league. Moving forward, that’s what you see.

Kyle Flood, Rutgers: I think the most important thing to me and to our football program at Rutgers is whoever ultimately ends up in that job becomes a vocal advocate for our conference. So whatever issues we decide in our conference, you want somebody who is going to have strong opinions based on the consensus of the people in the conference. And then have the ability to work with the other commissioners and work with the bowl representatives and the TV executives to get the best deal done for everybody.

Earlier today, you saw my compilation of recent Big East coaches who have left their respective teams in, well, not the greatest ways.

Now it is your time to vote: Which coach do you think is the most hated or vilified in recent Big East history? Because let's be honest: there are no villains in the league right now. No coach has been in the league longer than four seasons; no coach has done anything to draw the ire or disrespect of their fellow coaches or fans.

So we have to dip back into history, and there we find plenty of guys who ruffled feathers. Your choices:

Randy Edsall. Hightailed it out of UConn after the Fiesta Bowl loss to Oklahoma, forgoing the team charter plane home to run off with Maryland. Never told his players in person he was going to leave.

Todd Graham. Hightailed it out of Pitt after a 6-6 season filled with failed promises and underachievement. Said goodbye via text message, and has since said it was a mistake to take the Panthers job. And his kids didn't like Pittsburgh. Now enjoying sunny Arizona.

Brian Kelly. Hightailed it out of Cincinnati after a 12-0 regular season for Notre Dame. Waited until the end of his team banquet to tell his players of his departure after they already found out from news reports.

Bobby Petrino. Hightailed it out of Louisville after a 12-1 season and an Orange Bowl appearance for the Atlanta Falcons, after having conversations with Auburn, Florida, LSU and the Oakland Raiders while still coaching the Cardinals.

Rich Rodriguez. Hightailed it out of West Virginia for Michigan, where he failed spectacularly in three seasons with the Wolverines. He may still be the most hated man in Morgantown.

What do you think? Did I forget anyone? Please leave your comments down below or in the mailbag and we will recap the results and some of your thoughts Friday.