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Report: UConn, USF, Cincinnati could get payday from Big East

By Chip Patterson | Blogger
March 4, 2013 10:54 am ET

Conference realignment has taken several charter members, and reportedly the league name, from the Big East conference. The Big East has worked feverishly to hold together as West Virginia, Pittsburgh, Syracuse, Louisville, and Rutgers all found new homes in other conferences while seven nonfootball schools -- the "Catholic 7"; DePaul, Georgetown, Marquette, Providence, St. John's, Seton Hall and Villanova -- have decided to form their own league.

Three schools -- Connecticut, Cincinnati and South Florida -- have been left behind. According to a report from Mark Blaudschun, longtime sportswriter for the Dallas Morning News and Boston Globe, those schools might be eligible to receive a big payday thanks to the sum of exit fees collected by the conference.

Big East leaders met Friday afternoon in Atlanta to discuss, among other things, the withdrawal of the Catholic 7. No deals regarding the new basketball-centric league or reported sale of the "Big East" name were finalized, but Blaudschun reports that the current "football faction" will have a cash fund of "close to $100 million for distribution."

The $100 million total is a combination of nearly 70 million dollars the Big East has and will collect in exit fee money from schools that have left or have announced they are leaving and another total of approximately $30 million which will come to the Big East offices from the NCAA as "unit" shares for conference teams participation in the NCAA men's basketball tournament.

According to sources, the Big East football faction has presented the Catholic 7 group consisting of St. John's, DePaul, Providence, Marquette, Seton Hall, Georgetown and Villanova with a lump sum offer of between 10 and 15 million dollars.

The Catholic 7 isreportedly asking for approximately $35 million in payouts, so where that $100 million figure for the current Big East schools is far from official at this point.

But after paying the Catholic 7, along with a small sum for the recently added and future Big East schools -- SMU, Houston, Memphis, Central Florida, Temple, Tulane, and East Carolina -- the league will reportedly sign hefty checks for Connecticut, Cincinnati, and South Florida.

After payments and operating costs, Blaudschun estimated that each school could make between $18 million and $25 million once the settlement is reached.

Multiple reports from Friday's Big East meetings reinforced the fact that nothing was finalized in the discussions. Certain aspects, like the sale of the Big East name and total amount of NCAA tournament "unit" money, will take more time to hammer out in the coming months. The Catholic 7 is reportedly pushing for a July 1 withdrawal, so expect more on this topic in the coming weeks.

AP Source: Big East football keeps $100m in split
By RALPH D. RUSSO (AP College Football Writer) | The Associated Press – 1 hour 14 minutes ago

NEW YORK (AP) -- Big East football schools will get almost all of a $110 million pot in a deal that will allow seven departing basketball schools to keep the name Big East and start playing in their own conference next season, a person familiar with the negotiations says.

The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the separation agreement has not yet been finalized. That is likely to happen by the end of the week. The football schools will receive approximately $100 million under the agreement, most of which will go to holdover members Connecticut, South Florida and Cincinnati.

The basketball schools will receive $10 million, the Big East name and the right to play their conference tournament at Madison Square Garden.

The Big East's stash of cash has built up in recent years through a combination of exit fees, entry fees and money the league's members earned in the NCAA men's basketball tournament. Since 2011, the Big East has lost 16 schools that were either members or dropped out before playing a game. That figure includes the seven Catholic basketball schools.

The so-called Catholic 7, which is expected to add at least two more members before it begins competition in the 2013-14 school year, is made up of Georgetown, St. John's, Villanova, Seton Hall, Providence, Marquette and DePaul. The new Big East has a television deal from Fox waiting for it, though it still needs to hire a commissioner and set up a league office.

Joining South Florida, Connecticut, Cincinnati and Temple, which rejoined the Big East last year for football, in the to-be-named-later conference in 2013 will be Memphis, Central Florida, SMU and Houston. East Carolina and Tulane are set to join in 2014 and Navy is scheduled to join for football in 2015. Commissioner Mike Aresco has said the conference is looking at adding another member to give it an even 12. It would then break into two divisions of six and play a football championship game.

The Big East football schools recently agreed to a seven-year deal worth about $130 million with ESPN, though the first year of the deal is expected to be adjusted down with the departure of the seven basketball schools. The Big East will receive about $20 million per year for the final six years of the deal, or about $2 million per school.

Big East needs to move forward–quickly



The final issues should be hammered out on Wednesday, some of the financial numbers still need to be worked on, but at the end of the day the deal should be signed and the divorce between the Big East football and Catholic 7 will be official.

Both sides can make their announcements on Thursday.

And then what?

If I am Big East Commissioner Mike Aresco, who has worked his butt off for the past six months to make things work, this is what I would do.

1. Announce that Big East football is moving on and the Catholic 7 group is also moving on and that you wish them well.

2. Turn next week’s Big East tournament–the last model off the original line which was created 34 years ago, into an Irish Wake. Tell stories, shake hands, laugh and promote a good week of basketball for a great conference taking its last bow on Broadway.

Celebrate the Big East as it was. As it is. And as it can be. Embrace the Catholic 7 group and wish them well and mean it.

3. Gather the new troops together–UConn, Cincinnati, South Florida, Temple, Memphis, Houston, Tulane, SMU, East Carolina, Central Florida, and Navy. Give a wink to Tulsa and say, be patient

Tell them they can be the best of the rest–meaning the WAC, the Mountain West, Conference USA, the Sun Belt and all the others who aren’t part of the BCS 5. And that in any given year, they can have one or two or three teams in football or basketball which can look anyone in the eye and play on a big stage.

4. Give the name of Big East to the Catholic 7 with your blessing and baptize a new league which will include the characteristics and profile of its members.

Start with the name Metro–as in the once fledgling and ambitious Metro Conference, which passed away 18 years ago. Look at the schools and the cities. Cincinnati, Tampa, Philadelphia, Memphis, Houston, Dallas, New Orleans, Washington-Baltimore (Navy), Orlando, Hartford (UConn). Only East Carolina is Metro stretch.

Go beyond that. Keep the Big Name. Call it an Athletic Conference. BMAC.

People will call it the Big Mac, which works. Go beyond that and quickly sign up McDonald’s as a sponsor and partner. That brings in money and recognition and a younger target audience. Have BMAC t-shirts available at McDonald’s. BMAC mugs.

If you want to go basic, Call it the Metro 10, 11 or 12 to match the number of schools in the league–but that can be risky. It should be noted that Louisville won a pair of national championships as a Metro Conference member. Memphis made it to the Final Four as a Metro Conference team.

5. Take the Basketball tournament and make it a moveable feast. Start it in Hartford for symbolism sake. But then move it to Memphis, Cincinnati, into Texas, into Florida, New Orleans, Philadelphia and even New York.

6. Promote the hell out of Memphis, Temple, UConn and Cincinnati at the start in basketball and hope that SMU and Houston revive their programs to some previous glory days. Push the upgrades at Tulane.

Talk about success of South Florida and Central Florida in basketball and how it is a work in progress.

In football, increase non-conference games prime time games. Use the new ESPN forum to stage games that people will watch. Promote the hell out of Central Florida and South Florida and talk about creating the next FSU-Florida or Miami-Florida State rival in a talent rich area.

And then step back and wait. Maybe it will work. Maybe it won’t. Maybe the conference raids will continue and UConn and Cincinnati will take the first bus out-of-town. But with millions of dollars of Big East money in their pockets they might think about their next move.

But it will be fun. People will have a good time doing it, hoping it works.

And if doesn’t, at least you can say you gave it your best effort.