The Temple Owls are in discussions with the Big East officials to join the conference for all sports, according to a New York Times report.
A source with knowledge of the situation told the New York Times that Temple's decision is expected to be made within the next month. The Owls have been invited to join the new league formed by the merger of Mountain West and Conference USA, and are on a one-month timeline with the merged conference to let their intentions be known. There are also legal ramifications of leaving the Mid-American Conference and Atlantic 10 Conference that still need to be resolved.
After West Virginia left the Big East to join the Big 12, the conference has been scrambling to find a replacement that could join the league in time for 2012, thus saving the conference from hectic, last-minute schedule replacements. Temple, whose location and successful athletics program are convenient for the Big East, is viewed as a viable solution.
Speculation has centered around whether Villanova would object to inviting Temple to the Big East due to the impact having another Philadelphia team would have on its own athletic programs.
Temple was previously a football member of the Big East, but was thrown out in 2004 after years of under-performance.
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