The West Virginia Mountaineers reached a settlement agreement with the Big East that allows them to leave the Conference earlier than the normal buy-out would have allowed. That means they'll be gone next year, but it also might mean that Pitt could leave the Conference earlier than they might have thought possible, according to Cardiac Hill.
Now, there's a dollar amount that can be paid to leave the Big East early. Likely what will happen is that Pitt and Syracuse negotiate their way for an exit in 2013 for much lower amount than what WVU paid. The Big East will have their new members in, Pitt and Syracuse will be in the ACC, and everyone can just move on.
The Panthers agreed to move to the ACC early in the football season, but the Big East adheres to a 27-month buyout plan that would have forced Pitt to spend two more seasons in a Conference they were dying to get out of. West Virginia could have paved the way for Pitt to get out of the Conference a lot earlier.
For more on this and all things Pitt athletics, please head over to Cardiac Hill.