Although West Virginia is "bolting from the Big East early, Pittsburgh and Syracuse will not leave the Big East this fall" for the ACC, according to sources cited by Brett McMurphy of CBSSPORTS.com. Sources said that Pitt and Syracuse “won’t try to leave this summer, but will attempt to negotiate deals to allow them to join the ACC a year early in 2013.” Unlike West Virginia, the two schools “have not pursued any legal action to get out of the Big East’s 27-month exit requirement and leave before 2014.” McMurphy noted the main reason Pitt and Syracuse “are not trying to leave the Big East this season is both schools don’t want to be ‘any more disruptive to the Big East’ for the coming season.” If they left this summer, the Big East “could be down to only five football members.” Another reason is because the ACC “doesn’t desperately need the teams to fill out this year’s league schedule, like the Big 12 needed West Virginia to replace Missouri in its 2012 schedule.” With WVU paying $20M to leave two years early, Pitt and Syracuse each “would likely have been required to pay the same amount to leave this summer.” By waiting until '13, they “likely can negotiate a deal to only pay $10 million” (CBSSPORTS.com, 2/14).
PAYMENT PLAN: Sources said that WVU “is responsible” for paying $10M to the Big East to leave early. The Big 12 is “loaning” the university the remaining $10M, but WVU “will only be responsible for paying back half that amount” (CBSSPORTS.com, 2/14). ESPN.com's Andrea Adelson noted “any settlement funding will come from private sources and independently generated athletic revenues.” WVU AD Oliver Luck said that with the move to the Big 12, the school “should get about $18 million to $19 million a year in television payouts, about double what it gets from the Big East.” He added that payments are “being prorated for the first three years at 50 percent, 67 percent and 87 percent ... reaching 100 percent in the fourth year” (ESPN.com, 2/14). In West Virginia, Mike Casazza noted WVU “won’t have to start reimbursing the Big 12 until four years from now.” A source said that the school will have “$1 million taken out of the university’s annual Big 12 television revenue five times, beginning in the 2015-16 fiscal year” (Charleston DAILY MAIL, 2/15).
