To newly appointed Big East commissioner Mike Aresco, the conference is expanding with the times.

It used to be that the Big East only consisted of East Coast schools, but times are changing as revenue is to be made westward. The new expansion of both the Big East’s football and basketball programs can be considered the conference’s manifest destiny, in that they see western expansion as the ideal moneymaker for the future.

Aresco spoke in Chicago Friday about this new path and how it will impact college sports.

“We’re planting the Big East flag in the Midwest,” said Aresco when talking about the addition of schools like Memphis, Houston and Boise State that have agreed to join the conference next season.

“We have two sports that are equally important, and they can help each other,” Aresco said. “The basketball-only schools derive great benefit from being with our football-basketball schools. The football-basketball schools benefit from the wonderful, strong heritage of the basketball schools. That, together, will mean a lot as we talk to the various networks.”

Aresco spoke on various issues that are relevant to the conference’s expansion, but played off any doubts critics had in doubting the prestige of the newly aligned basketball conference, especially after the eventual departures of Pitt, Syracuse and Notre Dame.

“It’s ridiculous,” said Aresco. “We have great schools. We have Louisville, DePaul and St. John’s. We have Temple coming in, Memphis and Houston. When these teams join the Big East they’ll elevate themselves because they’re in the Big East.”

Aresco also briefly touched on Notre Dame’s recent announcement to leave the conference.

“We loved the relationship with Notre Dame,” Aresco said. “It’s a great institution – we were happy to have them in the conference, we’ve wished them well.

They decided to move on, but that’s a clarifying moment in some ways in college sports. We think now that there will be a period of stability.

“One never knows in this business, but I believe that, I think a lot of people believe that, and I think that’ll enable all the conferences now to consolidate.”

Aresco stressed the importance of new media throughout the day, mentioning how the conference’s adoption of new media contracts will go a long way in its plans of becoming a major media conference like the Big Ten.

“We need to do a good TV/media deal. We need to do a deal that gives our schools the resources they need, that gives them the confidence financially, the stability they need. And also the exposure they need,” said Aresco.

He mentioned the importance of Big East name as a brand in college athletics that can’t be replaced.

“There have been talks about changing the name of the conference,” said Aresco. “I don’t want to change our name. We want to tell our story while forging a very bright future.”

Aresco touched on the possibility of creating a dedicated Big East network, which would give fans an all-access approach to the conference similar to that of the Big Ten Network.

“As you know, some conferences have their own TV networks. We have so much product that we’ll look at every option. We’ll be very aggressive in the digital area,” said Aresco. “I don’t want to create any expectations, but we think our value will be recognized and ultimately it will be maximized.”

Aresco also discussed DePaul and their role in contributing to the conference’s success.

“DePaul is a very important school for us,” Aresco said. “Everybody remembers DePaul in the Final Four, everybody knows how good the program has been. DePaul is very important in a major market.

“DePaul, I think, can contribute a great deal, just as St. John’s will, as Villanova does in Philadelphia, as Georgetown does in the D.C. area. DePaul is extremely important to us. And I know [head men’s basketball coach] Oliver (Purnell) will get it done.”

When asked about the Big East’s involvement in DePaul’s new arena plans, Aresco said, “not at all, it’s up to DePaul, and whatever they do they’ll make the right decision.”