The Big East has reportedly invited Houston, Southern Methodist and Central Florida to be full-time members of the conference, along with Air Force, Navy and Boise State in football-only roles.

The conference is trying to heal a hemorrhaging wound left by the exits of Pittsburgh, Syracuse and TCU last month. 

If the schools agreed to join the Big East, they must agree to an increase in the conference’s exit fee from $5 million to $10 million. Big East presidents voted unanimously to double the fee Monday night, only on the contingency that Navy or Air Force joined for football only.

If all the invitations are accepted, the Big East would reach the 12 team mark in football. The only thing stopping them would be the defection of Missouri from the Big 12 to the SEC. The New York Times is reporting the move as “imminent” which means the Big 12 would look to possible schools like the Big East’s West Virginia or Louisville for Missouri’s replacement.

Boise State President Bob Kustra announced that his school has not received an invitation from the Big East yet, but stressed the importance of his school being in an automatic qualifying conference.

Kustra’s remarks show that if an invitation is inevitably extended, he would seriously consider joining the Big East as it is an AQ conference.