Newark, NJ (Sports Network) - Rutgers University will reportedly leave the Big East and accept an invitation to join the Big Ten.
According to the Newark Star-Ledger, the announcement could come as early as Tuesday.
Rutgers will join Maryland as the newest Big Ten members. Maryland, on Monday, announced its decision to leave the ACC for the Midwest-based league that will now have 14 teams.
It will mark the second expansion for the Big Ten in recent years, as Nebraska is in its second season of play in the conference after leaving the Big 12.
Rutgers and Maryland will also expand the Big Ten's footprint to the East Coast, giving the league a presence in New York City and Washington, DC.
The Star-Ledger reported that Rutgers hopes to join the Big Ten for the 2014-15 academic year, but would have to work out an early-exit agreement with the Big East, which requires a departure notice of 27 months. Syracuse and Pittsburgh are headed to the ACC next year and have already made similar agreements with the Big East to leave early.
Rutgers has been a Big East member since 1991 in football and since 1995 in all sports. The exit will add more confusion in the ever-changing Big East.
Created mainly as a men's basketball conference in 1979 with Syracuse, Providence, Georgetown, St. John's, Seton Hall, Boston College and Connecticut as original members, the league has since expanded numerous times to its current 16 members.
In addition to the imminent departures of Syracuse and Pittsburgh to the ACC, Notre Dame announced plans in September to leave the Big East for the ACC in all sports except football and hockey. West Virginia left the Big East this year for a move to the Big 12.
In a move to fortify the conference, the Big East added Boise State, San Diego State and Navy as football-only members, while Central Florida, Houston, SMU, Temple and Memphis will be added for all other sports.
