Skip navigation
Favorites
Sign up to follow your favorites on all your devices.
Sign up

Solving one of the biggest problems of Catholic 7 leaving Big East--exit fees

Mike Aresco Big East commissioner

As news broke this past week that the Big East’s seven Catholic schools would break off and form their own conference, the one thing that has been the driving form behind realignment showed up again.

Money.

What was to become of the exit fees paid by schools that had previously defected from the Big East and would these Catholic Seven be obligated to pay exits fees of their own?

A report from the USA Today Friday is providing some clarity.

According to Mark Blaudschun, Big East commissioner Mike Aresco is working on a plan that would distribute the $20 million in exit fees to the ten active voting members of the conference—Marquette, Villanova, St. John’s, Georgetown, Providence, Seton Hall, Connecticut, South Florida, Connecticut, and DePaul.

The total amount of exit fees would later double, according to the report, but would be delivered in installments and could vary in amount due to legal disputes, including the departure of Rutgers from the conference.

“It’s one thing to say you are leaving,’' a person familiar with the talks told the USA Today, “but the devil is in the details. They (the Catholic schools) did this, but I’m not sure if they have any idea of all the work that is involved in making it work. Right now, the Big East doesn’t have a television contract for basketball for next season.’'

To read the entire report, click here.

Daniel Martin is a writer and editor at JohnnyJungle.com, covering St. John’s. You can find him on Twitter:@DanielJMartin_