The Big East will not lose AQ status no matter how many teams it has

[Czar]

I've seen this around a little bit, and felt the need to address it. The Big East does not need 8 football teams to remain a conference. They could be a three team league for all anyone cares. And even if they are, they will still have a BCS bid. Bill Hancock has come out and said the Big East can't lose its BCS spot no matter what this cycle, and has also said that there is no rule for a minimum amount of teams in a conference. The only punishments for not being at 8 teams is that you will be under a waiver/probation/whatever for two years. After that, the only punishment is that your conference loses governorship. Basically, the AD's will be barred from NCAA committees and stuff like that. A very minor thing since at that point the BCS contract will be gone and they can simply fold up the football conference and act like nothing happened. So, after everyone leaves, if the Big East accepts no one, there could be a situation where, literally, a 7-5 Rutgers team makes a BCS bowl.