BigE

Big East fate vexes Catholic schools

The seven Big East Catholic, non-FBS schools met with Big East commissioner Mike Aresco on Sunday to express their concerns for the direction of the conference, multiple Big East sources confirmed to ESPN.com on Monday.

Sources said the New York meeting was the first among the seven schools (Marquette, DePaul, St. John's, Georgetown, Providence, Seton Hall and Villanova) and ultimately could lead to them splitting from the Big East's football members.

http://www.basketballforum.com/newth...newthread&f=94

BigE

The Atlantic 10 has discussed the possibility of a 21-team basketball league in the event that the changing conference landscape makes high-profile Big East schools available, a source with direct knowledge of the situation told ESPN.com Tuesday.
The A-10 has been proactive over the last year, strengthening its brand as a high-profile basketball conference with the additions of Butler and VCU, two programs that were in the 2011 Final Four.
The A-10 currently is a 16-team conference for the 2012-13 season, but Temple and Charlotte are set to leave for the Big East and Conference USA, respectively.

http://collegebasketballtalk.nbcspor...tball-schools/

BigE

http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports...hools/1767387/

http://espn.go.com/college-sports/st...ss-source-says

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/ncaab-...61--ncaab.html

BigE

A Smart Breakaway for Big East Basketball Schools

A conference composed of these seven teams, along with select others that do not sponsor Division I football programs, could offer a men’s basketball league that was roughly as competitive as that of major conferences like the Pacific-12 and the Southeastern Conference. The alternative, to remain attached to the other members of the Big East, would put these schools at risk of being associated with a conference that would come to be regarded as second-tier.



http://fivethirtyeight.blogs.nytimes...tball-schools/

BigE

Potential all-Catholic conference offers schools challenges and opportunity


As a chunk of the Big East transforms itself into a mostly or even all-Catholic basketball league, the conference faces a choice: play up or play down its faith-based roots?

With Catholic higher education already struggling to strike a balance between faith and financial security, either course carries both challenges and opportunities.

http://www.ncaa.com/news/basketball-...s-challenges-a

On the one hand, the seven schools that announced Saturday they’ll set off on their own — St. John’s, Georgetown, Marquette, DePaul, Seton Hall, Providence and Villanova — have already made clear they’ll look to non-denominational institutions that otherwise fit their profile, such as Butler, to expand.


http://www.ncaa.com/news/basketball-...s-challenges-a

BigE

Catholic 7 presidents to discuss timing of Big East exit


The person spoke to USA TODAY Sports on the condition of anonymity because the meeting details were supposed to remain confidential.

Although no major expansion plans are expected to be announced, the group is expected to announce that it has reached an agreement with the remaining Big East schools to leave the league a year earlier than originally stated, with a start-up date of July 1, 2014, rather than July 1, 2015.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports...-york/1807735/

BigE

NEW YORK -- The seven Catholic schools that have decided to leave the Big East and form their own league continued to plot the future Friday, retaining Proskauer Rose LLP and Pilson Communications, Inc., to aid in their defection.

The university presidents met Friday in New York to discuss the future of the new league. They vow to "honor the history and tradition on which the Big East was established." There is no timetable for when other schools will join the league

http://espn.go.com/mens-college-bask...-big-east-exit

BigE

Report: 'Catholic 7' banking on big payday with new TV deal


The seven Catholic schools that plan to leave the Big East to form their own basketball conference expect to double their money off a television deal, according to sources.

Sources say that Fox, whose Fox Sports 1 channel is set to launch in August, has an initial high offer on the table of more than $500 million for a 12-year deal. Fox Sports 1 will replace the network's motorsports channel Speed, already in 81 million homes. Sources say officials with Fox are scheduled to meet with those representing the interest of the "Catholic 7" in New York City on Wednesday. A Fox spokesman could not immediately be reached for comment. A high-ranking source at NBC Sports Network, which has so far engaged in preliminary discussions with the "Catholic 7," declined comment. ESPN spokesman Josh Krulewitz also declined comment on the network's interest in the "Catholic 7" games.

http://espn.go.com/mens-college-bask...eal-basketball

BigE

C7 Meeting With Fox Today, 1-9-13


It is being reported that each school will make 3 million each and no unequal revenue sharing.

Also being reported that interest in VCU as the 5th team in has been intensifying the last few weeks. Looks like they could give SLU a run for that last spot.


Plus, the C7 will be meeting in DC on Saturday, hopefully we will get some concrete news afterwards about the makeup of the league.


http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/col...html?mobile=no

BigE

UConn, Cincinnati leaning towards Catholic 7?


While the football half of what remains of the Big East was conducting meetings in Dallas, hoping to keep San Diego State–and other nervous members–in the fold, the group of 7 Catholic schools were considering the possibility which would add existing football members Connecticut and Cincinnati into the group for all sports but football.

http://ajerseyguy.com/

BigE

C-7 and Fox are talking and some C-7 games maybe shown on BTN (a Fox partner)


http://www.vuhoops.com/2013/1/9/3855...es-in-new-york

BigE

MacManus: CBS Wants “Catholic 7″ Deal: CBS Sports is interested in acquiring television rights to the “Catholic 7″ college basketball conference, CBS Sports chairman Sean MacManus told Sports Illustrated in a piece published Sunday. CBS has already spoken with the former Big East schools, MacManus said, with the intention of acquiring rights for both CBS and the CBS Sports Network. (SI.com)

http://www.sportsmediawatch.com/2013...nba-countdown/

BigE

The Big East is hoping to resolve its divorce with the seven departing Catholic-based basketball schools within the next few weeks -- in time for a summer 2014 departure -- according to a source who had detailed knowledge of Friday's conference call with the Big East.

The source said the remaining Big East schools expect a legal battle with the departing schools for the Big East name, which carries with it branding rights and national recognition.

The departing seven -- Georgetown, Providence, Seton Hall, St. John's, Marquette, DePaul and Villanova -- still must form a league. They also need to decide on a commissioner, bylaws, location, championships, compliance rules and how many schools they will add. The departing seven are expected initially to target Butler and Xavier out of the Atlantic 10 and possibly grow to 10 or 12 teams with candidates among Creighton, Dayton, Saint Louis, Richmond and VCU.

http://espn.go.com/college-sports/st...14-source-says

BigE

NBC joins bidding war for Catholic schools


NBC Sports Network verbally offered the Big East between $20 million and $23 million per year for six years to acquire the league's media rights, sources told ESPN.

NBC Sports Network's deal for the Big East would include a "bridge year" for basketball in 2013-14 and then would "sync" the football and basketball deals together for another five to six seasons so they expire at the same time.

http://espn.go.com/mens-college-bask...a-rights-deals


Two people familiar with the deal say the Big East is closing in on a six-year contract with NBC Sports Network for football and basketball rights that will pay the conference about $20 million per year.

The people spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because negotiations weren't being made public.

One person said the deal would likely be announced within the next two weeks. The Big East first has to go through the process of allowing ESPN, which currently holds the conference's football TV rights, to match the offer

Among the issues being discussed by the departing and remaining Big East members are how to split tens of millions of dollars in revenue and which group will play under the Big East name.

Notre Dame is also in the Big East for at least one more season before moving its sports - other than football and hockey - to the Atlantic Coast Conference

http://sports.yahoo.com/news/ap-sour...71--ncaaf.html

BigE

John Feinstein
Catholic 7 schools, including Georgetown, charting a new yet familiar path

Now it appears that the Catholic 7 may launch as early as next season as a two-division, 12-team league with a TV contract that will probably be comparable to what the former Big East schools would have made if they had accepted ESPN’s offer.

In the next few months, the league will formally decide what schools it will invite to join, no doubt after first learning which ones will accept their invitation. It must also resolve two issues with its former conference: who gets to keep the Big East name and who might play their conference tournament at Madison Square Garden. The smart money is on the remaining Big East teams hanging on for dear life to the conference name and MSG preferring the new league, which will have a number of glamour teams, to be its March tenant going forward.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/sports...b_story_1.html