Image Source -- (Lax U Nation)

BY TOM MARTIN

You're watching multisource sports news analysis from Newsy.

College sports conferences are suddenly craving new TV deals. The Big Ten, the SEC and the Pac-12 all signed off on lucrative contracts in the past year -- leaving the Big East a little jealous.

With TV execs in attendance at Tuesday’s Big East Media Day, football coaches like Rutgers’ Greg Schiano (She-Ah-No) made sure to address the league’s selling points, starting with expansion.

“And now the latest move, with TCU coming in next year, as John mentioned -- Rose Bowl champs -- to gain entry into the state of Texas. We all are familiar with the great football that is played in the state of Texas. To grow our national footprint and to do the things that we’re doing, I really am excited about where this league is headed.”

TCU in the Big East -- geographically, it’s a head-scratcher. But the conference needs football help -- none of its eight teams finished in last year’s Top 25. The Rose Bowl champion Horned Frogs could increase TV interest for a conference known mostly for basketball.

TCU may be a nice get, but it can’t be the last step, writes The New-Jersey Star-Ledger.

“This is when we’ll see if [Big East Commissioner John Marinatto] (Mear-In-Ah-Toe) … is up for this job … The Big East has for too long sat back and hoped for the best instead of aggressively trying to position itself … Marinatto must make his league a more attractive option before he can expect a true, lucrative bidding war.”

If the Big East wants to get bigger, the choices are fairly limited. Houston, East Carolina and UCF are possibilities, and Notre Dame -- a Big East basketball school -- remains a target.

But if the well of options runs dry, ESPN’s Ivan Maisel (My-Zell)  thinks - before seeking outsiders, the Big East needs to improve in-house:

“They need one of the legacy teams -- they need a Syracuse -- they need a Pittsburgh or a West Virgina -- teams that have a great tradition to get back up there. And it’s probably not fair to say, but that’s what the rest of the nation will recognize.”

Quality over quantity -- it could draw fan interest, but will TV execs bite? Twelve-team conferences have earned the most money so far. And for the Big East to meet those standards, it may be forced to expand. But Dick Weiss of the New York Daily News thinks the offers could remain potent nonetheless.

“Representatives from CBS, Comcast … NBC Sports and Fox were all conspicuous by their presence at Big East football media day here Tuesday and sources indicate the bidding could escalate to between $15 million and $18 million for the rights, which would give Big East football more value than the ACC… "

The Big East’s current contract with ESPN/ABC expires in 2013, but Commissioner Marinatto expects to have a new deal done within the next twelve months.

Follow @Newsy_Videos on Twitter

Get more multisource video news analysis from Newsy

Transcript by Newsy