Connecticut athletic director Warde Manuel disputed a Sporting News report, saying his school and Cincinnati are not working on a plan for a new league: "We have not been in any discussion about creating another league with anyone," Manuel said Friday. "We're moving forward to strengthen the Big East with the teams that are committed to being in the Big East." The Hartford Courant story also has a spokesman for UConn president Susan Herbst denying an ESPN report that Herbst called the Catholic schools "pleading them to stay [in the Big East]."