It appears the Big East and the Catholic Seven have finally finalized an early divorce and it's going to come with a nice parting gift for UConn: $30 million.
The Big East had about $110 million in its war chest (built up from exit fees, entry fees and NCAA tournament money) and in exchange for an early departure the Seven agreed to only take $10 million of it, according to the AP. That left $100 million to be split among the Big East Three (UConn, Cincinnati and USF), along with new members and league costs, and it looks like the Three will be keeping almost all of it.
How much? Thirty million dollars each according to Mark Blaudschun, which is $10 million more than the sort of amounts that were being speculated about as recently as yesterday. That's a massive payday for UConn, which is only going to get about $2 million a year in their future conference. Although the Huskies will still be looking for a home in another conference, this sort of payday will help stop them from being at a funding disadvantage with their old conference mates for at least a couple of years, and put them up significantly over the Big East's incoming members.
It's sad to say goodbye to rivals like Georgetown, Villanova and the rest of the Seven a year early, but for this much money UConn should be thrilled to do it.