Rutgers will join the Big Ten in 2014

As the Big East Conference was being picked apart, Rutgers was looking for a way out and a new place to show off a football program that has been resurrected in the last decade.

Not only did Rutgers find that escape hatch, the Scarlet Knights ended up in one of the most desirable neighborhoods in college sports.

Rutgers joined the Big Ten on Tuesday, leaving the Big East behind and cashing in on the school’s investment in a football team that only 10 years ago seemed incapable of competing at the highest level.

The move follows Maryland’s announcement a day earlier that it was heading to the Big Ten in 2014. The additions give the Big Ten 14 schools and a presence in lucrative East Coast markets.

Rutgers announced its decision Tuesday at a news conference on its Piscataway, N.J., campus attended by Big Ten Commissioner Jim Delany, Rutgers President Robert Barchi and Athletic Director Tim Pernetti.

San Diego State Athletic Director Jim Sterk said the Aztecs are committed to a future in the Big East in 2013 despite Rutgers’ jump to the Big Ten.

“I can say the Big East took a hit,” Sterk said during a weekly news conference streamed on the Internet. “It may take some others, but I can tell you the league will continue to be strong. … I’m excited about the future and wanted to make sure that was clear and on the direction San Diego State University was taking.”

Sterk also essentially ruled out the possibility of staying in the Mountain West Conference, noting he hasn’t talked to MWC Commissioner Craig Thompson since May.

ETC.

Blue Jays hire Gibbons as manager again

John Gibbons was hired as manager of the Toronto Blue Jays for the second time, returning to a team that just invigorated its roster after a blockbuster trade with the Miami Marlins.

Gibbons managed Toronto in 2004-08 and had a 305-305 record, making him the third-winningest manager in franchise history.

He succeeds John Farrell, who spurned Toronto for his dream managing job in Boston.

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Hiroki Kuroda is staying with the New York Yankees, agreeing to a $15-million, one-year contract.

Kuroda, who turns 38 in February, was the Yankees’ most consistent pitcher during the regular season. He was 16-11, tying for the team lead in wins, and led New York with 33 starts and 2192/3 innings.

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The Colorado Rockies traded left-hander Matt Reynolds to the Arizona Diamondbacks for corner infielder Ryan Wheeler.

Wheeler played in 50 games for the Diamondbacks last season, batting .239 with six doubles, a triple, a home run and 10 runs batted in. He also hit .351 with 15 homers and 90 RBIs at triple-A Reno, where the 24-year-old was an All-Star. He was the Diamondbacks’ fifth-round draft choice in 2009 from Loyola Marymount.

Reynolds was 3-1 with a 4.40 earned-run average, 17 walks and 51 strikeouts in 71 appearances last season. He has a career record of 5-3 with a 3.93 ERA, 40 walks and 118 strikeouts, all with the Rockies.

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Looking to add depth to the infield, the Seattle Mariners acquired versatile Robert Andino from the Baltimore Orioles in exchange for reserve outfielder Trayvon Robinson.

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USC’s Jovan Vavic has been selected interim coach of the U.S. men’s water polo program, replacing Terry Schroeder, who returned to Pepperdine. Also appointed to the coaching staff were UC Irvine Coach Marc Hunt and USC assistant Marko Pintaric. Both of those appointments are also on an interim basis.

Schroeder, a two-time silver medalist as a player, coached the U.S. to a silver in the 2008 Games. Last summer in London the U.S. finished fourth in its group before losing to eventual champion Croatia in the championship quarterfinals.

—Kevin Baxter

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Representatives of the NHL and the NHL Players’ Assn. agreed to meet Wednesday morning in New York after taking a break Tuesday to formulate strategy.

The NHLPA is expected to respond to the league’s request for an extensive proposal that covers the split of hockey-related revenue and contracting rights such as free agency and salary arbitration. The two sides met for about 90 minutes Monday. The NHL has already canceled games through Nov. 30 and is likely to begin canceling December games if a new collective bargaining agreement isn’t reached soon.

Kings winger Kyle Clifford signed to play for the Ontario Reign, the Kings’ ECHL affiliate, during the lockout.

—Helene Elliott