Brad Stevens and Shawn Vanzant (AP)

If anyone was still clinging to the charming yet antiquated notion of Butler as college basketball's little engine that could, Wednesday's announcement the Bulldogs are joining the Atlantic 10 should finally shatter that myth once and for all.

Ditching the backwaters of the Horizon League for a stronger, more high-profile league is a step up in class the program has been building toward since even before the first of its back-to-back national title game appearance in 2010 and 2011.

Yes, Butler will have to upgrade its facilities, increase its guarantee game budget and keep recruiting at a high level to annually contend in the Atlantic 10, but that evolution was already underway long before Wednesday's news conference.

Twenty-six percent of Butler's athletic budget was spent on men's basketball last season, a commitment comparable to the 31 percent Gonzaga currently allots. The school extended coveted coach Brad Stevens' contract through the 2021-22 season at a salary believed to be more than $1 million per year and is in the midst of giving historic Hinkle Fieldhouse a $25 million facelift.

On the recruiting front, Butler also has altered its approach since 2010. Stevens still puts a premium on finding high-character kids willing to adapt to his "Butler Way," yet the Bulldogs have also recruited more well-known talent that would have been outside their grasp before the notoriety the Final Four runs provided.

They were a finalist along with North Carolina and Indiana for Cody Zeller, one of the nation's top centers in the 2011 class. They landed Arkansas transfer Rotnei Clarke, a sharpshooter coveted by many elite programs. They signed top 100 prospect Kellen Dunham in the Class of 2012. And they secured a commitment from top 100 power forward Nolan Berry and have offers out to at least a trio of other even more highly ranked Class of 2013 recruits.

Tim Abromaitis (AP)Since the NCAA typically only grants a sixth year of eligibility to athletes who have missed two full seasons due to injury, Notre Dame knew its petition to get sharpshooter Tim Abromaitis back next year was unlikely to succeed.

Nonetheless, the Irish have every right to be disappointed by the NCAA's callous decision not to give the senior forward back the season denied to him by an untimely ACL tear last November.

Abromaitis is an ideal representative for what NCAA officials like to say college basketball should be about even if the first season he redshirted was due to the limited playing time available to him rather than injury.

He's a three-time Big East Scholar Athlete of the Year, a two-time academic All-American and an active participant in various forms of community service. Since he earned a degree in finance a year ahead of schedule in 2010 and became one of the youngest ever to earn his MBA at Notre Dame 11 months later, coach Mike Brey joked in January that he might have to enroll Abromaitis in law school if he returned next season.

The NCAA always likes to insist it judges every situation on a case-by-case basis, but if Abromaitis isn't the type of kid worthy of an exception, who is? How many other all-conference caliber players can balance academics, basketball and a social life in the manner that he did?

Abromaitis, of course, is too classy to complain. He admitted to the Chicago Tribune that it's "disappointing" but insisted he will not appeal the decision because he "decided one rejection would be enough."

Leon Rice (AP)If Boise State follows through with its plan to leave the Mountain West and join the Big East in football either in 2012 or 2013, the options for its often-overlooked basketball program look less appealing by the day.

The Broncos' current plan is to stash all non-football sports in the WAC, a conference on life support now that Utah State and San Jose State appear set to depart and Texas State, Texas-Arlington and Texas-San Antonio are unlikely to join. Those moves would leave the WAC with Idaho and New Mexico State as its only football-playing members, along with Boise State, Seattle and Denver in other sports.

The WAC can survive as a basketball-only conference by adding the likes of Utah Valley State and Cal State Bakersfield, but that option doesn't make the rapidly deteriorating league any more attractive for Boise State.

Whereas San Diego State hoops can thrive in the Big West because it has accomplished enough to play a Gonzaga-esque non-league schedule that can keep the program in at-large contention, that's not an option for Boise State right now. The Broncos have shown signs of promise under coach Leon Rice, but they're not an attractive opponent for high-profile teams since they've still have made only one March Madness appearance in 18 years and have never won an NCAA tournament game.

Some of the young talent Rice is collecting at Boise State suggests a renaissance for the basketball program may not be out of the realm of possibility if the school can find a quality home for the team. That would require the school to renege on its decision to send the football team to the Big East, perhaps a more viable scenario now that the Mountain West has equal access to the future four-team playoff as former BCS-affiliated leagues.

If Boise State still believes the Big East's TV contract is too rich to justify remaining in the Mountain West in all sports, then the basketball program's options are limited.

Michael Kidd-Gilchrist shoots over Christian Watford (Getty Images)

Kentucky is a month removed from its eighth national championship. Indiana is seven months away from beginning next season as perhaps the nation's top-ranked team. And the two rivals split a pair of fiercely contested games a year ago.

Yes, everything is in place for the two regional rivals to play one of the more anticipated regular season games of the season next year except for one problem: The coaches cannot come to an agreement on where to hold the game.

Kentucky coach John Calipari wants the games be played at a neutral site in either Louisville or Indianapolis as was custom between 1991 and 2005. Indiana coach Tom Crean prefers the matchup rotate between the two campus sites as it has since 2006.

[Related: John Calipari receives a one-of-a-kind cake]

Unless the two coaches can solve the impasse or a third party steps in and solves it for them, there's an increasing chance the Wildcats and Hoosiers won't play next season for the first time since 1968.

"The Kentucky game is still being talked about worked on, but it's not set in stone because, as many of you know, Kentucky doesn't want to play on our campus anymore and that's certainly not our first choice," Crean told the Associated Press on Friday. "Keeping it on campus is without a doubt our first choice and always has been since I've been here."

There's no denying the big event atmosphere a Kentucky-Indiana game would have if played at a neutral site in front of a half-red, half-blue crowd, but it's also hard to believe that's Calipari's only motivation in pushing for the end of true home games in the series.

John Calipari, Orlando Antigua and John Robic pose with the NCAA trophy replica cake (via @UKCoachCalipari)

Before Brandi Romines could deliver the NCAA championship trophy replica cake she baked to Kentucky coach John Calipari on Monday morning, the Lexington resident had to endure one final nerve-shredding experience.

She had to get her creation to campus unscathed.

After laying the 22-inch high, 16-inch wide cake on a white sheet in the back of her SUV, Romines climbed in with it to hold it still for the entirety of the 20-minute drive. Her husband Shawn got behind the wheel, turned the air conditioning on full blast to prevent the cake from melting and drove so slowly and cautiously to campus other drivers were honking at him to urge him to go faster.

"My husband and I were both sweating bullets," Romines said. "It was nerve-wracking and exhilarating the whole way there."

[Related: Two Kentucky players top the Yahoo! Sports Freshman All-America basketball team]

The anxiety-ridden journey proved worthwhile later Monday morning when Romines got to surprise Calipari with her cake in person. The Kentucky coach walked into a conference room for a meeting and asked why staffers were holding video cameras because he didn't initially realize that the replica cake on the table wasn't the actual trophy.

"Everybody laughed because he didn't notice at first," Romines said. "I said, 'Coach Cal, while everyone else was busy burning couches, I was dreaming of making a cake. I wanted to do this for you to tell you thanks because we're so thankful.' He said he couldn't believe it was a cake. He kept touching it. It was awesome."

It's no surprise Romines was so wary about damaging her cake considering how much time she spent making it.

James Johnson (US Presswire)The only thing more surprising than Virginia Tech's decision to fire coach Seth Greenberg last week is the man the Hokies have apparently chosen to replace him.

James Johnson, Greenberg's top assistant, has accepted the job, multiple media outlets reported Monday.

It was Johnson's departure from Virginia Tech to Brad Brownell's staff at Clemson that helped trigger athletic director Jim Weaver's decision to get rid of Greenberg. Not only was Johnson one of three members of the Virginia Tech staff who left for other jobs this spring, he opted not to stay even after Weaver offered to match the raise Clemson was offering.

[Related: Virginia Tech pulls tacky move before firing coach]

What's most unusual about the hire is Weaver seemed adamant about wanting to make a clean break from Greenberg's regime. Johnson has a less abrasive personality than the energetic, high-strung Greenberg, but he was also a member of the Virginia Tech staff for the last five seasons.

"I want to change the leadership such that the person at the top of the program has the same kind of family environment our other programs have," Weaver said last week. "It became crystal clear to me last week we didn't have that."

The upside to the hire of Johnson is that it should diminish the potential of any major roster turnover.

Terrell Stoglin (AP)Maryland's accelerated rebuilding process under coach Mark Turgeon has encountered an unexpected obstacle.

Sophomore guard Terrell Stoglin, the ACC's leading scorer last year, has been suspended for the 2012-13 season due to a violation of the school's student-athlete code of conduct. Instead of serving that penalty at Maryland or transferring to another school, Stoglin will enter the NBA draft.

Maryland officials did not specify what rules Stoglin broke, but the severity of the penalty suggests he is a repeat offender. The school also suspended Mychal Parker for a year as a result of a rules violation, but the swingman already had announced he will transfer.

"Being a University of Maryland student-athlete carries a tremendous honor and responsibility," athletic director Kevin Anderson said in a statement. "As much as we appreciate the effort these two young men gave to the program this season, they were unable to live up to that responsibility. We're disappointed, but hope they use this as a learning experience."

Stoglin's decision to enter the draft is a risky one because he's projected as no more than a borderline second-round pick.

The 6-foot guard scored 21.6 points per game on a talent-starved Terps team last season, but he's undersized to play shooting guard in the NBA and he has yet to show the ability to distribute as a point guard. Furthermore, the red flags raised by this year-long penalty will also undermine his chances of a team offering him a contract.

A move to the Mountain West will benefit Utah State (AP)

Had Utah State been left behind among the dying embers of the WAC after Nevada, Fresno State and Hawaii all bolted, the school would have been one of the nation's biggest losers in realignment.

Instead the Aggies will now apparently have a more stable permanent home that will test its newfound football mettle and provide its basketball program the chance to achieve further national relevance.

According to the Salt Lake Tribune, Utah State will announce in the next week or two that it will accept a long-coveted invitation to join the Mountain West Conference. San Jose State will also reportedly trade the WAC for the Mountain West, giving the league 10 football members once again.

What the move means for Utah State basketball is an opportunity to compete in a league that should annually place multiple teams in the NCAA tournament.

Stew Morrill has found a way to frequently remain in the fringes of the at-large picture from the Big West and the WAC, but Utah State's margin for error was miniscule and its ceiling remained low. The Aggies have a 1-9 NCAA tournament record under Morrill and have seldom earned anything but double-digit seeds because a suspect strength of schedule outweighed gaudy regular season records.

That will change instantly in the Mountain West, which promises to still be a nationally relevant hoops conference despite the departure of BYU and Utah and the impending loss of emerging power San Diego State. UNLV and New Mexico have become annual NCAA tournament fixtures, Colorado State is poised to remain competitive under Larry Eustachy, Nevada has long been a solid program and rebuilding Fresno State is starting to stockpile talent.