The Big East and the Gator Bowl are no more. The Champs Sports Bowl is the pick. Jacksonville is out. Orlando is in. Gator paid out $2.375M, CSB pays $2.4. Gator is upping purse to $3M. CSB offers incentives. The hybrid with the Gator/Sun and the Big East/Big 12 is gone. CSB will have Big East or Notre Dame every year. Notre Dame could get into Gator/Sun twice in four years. Notre Dame can get into CSB once in four years … and probably Sun once in four years. The CSB isn’t on New Year’s Day, but is always in the ratings top-3 for non-BCS games.

In short, the Big East’s new bowl agreement is neither hot nor cold. It’s a mixed bag, but it’s a win in that it isn’t a loss.

“When I spoke with our athletic directors (Monday) night and told them we were about to announce our deal, I noted to them I could not help but recall what we as a conference have accomplished since reconstituting the Big East in 2005,” Commissioner John Marinatto said Tuesday on a conference call with reporters.

“That is, among other things, defying the critics and capturing victories in three of our four BCS games and posting an overall 12-4 bowl record the past three seasons.

“It only seemed fitting, like the Super Bowl commercial says, that now we’re going to Disney World.”