American Athletic Conference commissioner Mike Aresco sat down with the media for about 20 minutes before last night's UConn/Michigan football game. Naturally, football topics dominated the question and answer session but Aresco did give his thoughts on defending national champion UConn headlining the AAC as well as Mohegan Sun Arena as the host for the inaugural AAC women's basketball tournament.

"With UConn we feel like we are already one of the top leagues but Louisville is in for only one more year and we lost Notre Dame which was one of the top teams," Aresco said. "We really think having UConn in the league is going to elevate our other programs. Connecticut is really important in women’s basketball and Mohegan could well be a long-term site but XL (Center) once they get back into the picture (could be a potential host). Mohegan is the right size, I think the women are excited about going there. We think we will have good attendance there but that is another one where we do have an option for another year and we are going to try to play it by ear. We were gratified that we had a lot of interest from a lot of sites for the men’s and women’s tournaments."

Here is the statement from Big East commissioner Mike Aresco regarding Rutgers' decision to leave the Big East for the Big Ten.

"Although we are disappointed that Rutgers has decided to leave the Big East conference, we wish them well. They have been a valued member of the conference for many years.

"We realize that conference realignment is currently a fact of life in college sports. In the context of this realignment, changes in our membership have been taking place, including important additions. In fact, the Big East has expanded its scope with new members in California, Texas, Florida, Idaho, Tennessee and Pennsylvania. As a result, the Big East has created a unique national football conference that is a factor in the BCS Championship, remains the nation’s strongest basketball conference top to bottom, and is a major force across the full spectrum of men’s and women’s college sports. We remain committed to, and confident in, the continued growth and vitality of the Big East conference."

Rutgers won  back to back Big East regular-season titles during the 2004-05 and 2005-06 seasons and also shared the regular-season title during the 1998-99 season and had nine top three finishes in a span of 11 years at one point.

Rutgers' physical and aggressive style could wreak some havoc in the Big Ten so it will be interesting to see how quickly the Scarlet Knights make a run at a title in their new conference.