New reports, including this one, indicate that West Virginia’s settlement to leave the Big East early will include a payment of $11 million, not $20 million, as had previously been reported.
Sources familiar with the negotiations told the Daily Mail Wednesday the university is nearly finished with a resolution to pay a “cash settlement” of $11 million to complete its exit from the Big East.
The settlement is not yet complete, and could be contingent upon WVU helping find another school to join the Big East early, taking the Mountaineers’ spot.
One source said the Big East is aware the best way to mitigate damages sustained by losing WVU is by adding a future Big East member sooner than previously planned.
Boise State, for example, is set to join the Big East in 2013, but would have to pay a $5 million buyout to leave the Mountain West Conference early.
Another possibility is Navy, which might actually be more convenient, since Navy is not currently in a conference. The only stumbling block would be the games currently on its 2012 schedule.
The settlement should soon become official, the Daily Mail reports. It could occur this week.
The Mountaineers have announced plans to join the Big 12 conference, and are trying to do so in 2012.
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