Big East Expansion? Rick Pitino Thinks So

In an era of turmoil across college sports, should the Big East add a new member? St. John’s Men’s Basketball head coach Rick Pitino took to social media to sound off on the idea on Saturday, Nov. 29, telling his audience of more than 121,000 Twitter followers “I said it 3 years ago, and I’ll say it again, Dayton belongs in the Big East.”

A private Catholic university located in the Midwest with a plucky basketball program joining the Big East? Certainly not the strangest idea to hit the world of college sports in a decade that has Stanford, Cal and SMU playing in the Atlantic Coast Conference.

Pitino’s proposal provoked a wide range of reactions. One joked that the Big East swap the Flyers for struggling DePaul; others rejected the idea out of hand, while others still took the idea seriously, musing on how conference expansion could aid the other member programs financially or giving credit to Dayton’s passionate fan base and gameday atmosphere.

One of those shooting down Pitino’s idea, per college basketball insider Adam Zagoria, was an unnamed Big East coach: “Dayton is never getting in. Bring nothing to the TV market. Plus Xavier would always vote against it,” Zagoria’s tweet read. Pitino responded to Zagoria’s refutation with characteristic snark: view the exchange below.

Zags, didn't know you were on the board of Xavier and it’s not about TV markets. It’s about strengthening your league with a program that's been doing it since the 60s, and sells out every game!!! Stick to tennis Zags 🤣 https://t.co/Arr9YpGlpb

— Rick Pitino (@RealPitino) November 30, 2025

The Case for Expanding

Beyond the debate over Dayton’s merits, it’s important to note the importance of initiative to college sports in 2025. After losing Oklahoma and Texas to the SEC in the move that kicked off realignment, the Big 12 got out in front of the wave, poaching the Pac 12 for programs like Arizona, Utah and Colorado before the buzzards could start to gather. The Big East may want to act in a similar fashion: even if Dayton doesn’t move the needle, losing programs to other conferences could be the alternative.