Exit, entrance fees for UConn could total $12 million,
UConn rattled the college sports world over the weekend when it was reported that the school is planning to leave the American Athletic Conference for the Big East, likely starting in the 2020-21 school year.
It will be the first school since 2014 to leave the conference.
Although school and conference officials have yet to make a formal announcement about the move, a ceremony is expected to happen at noon Thursday at Madison Square Garden. Big East school presidents voted Monday to invite and accept UConn to the Big East.
For UConn, the attraction has to do largely with basketball and restoring some of the schools’ past rivalries. School officials will have to decide whether to
make the football team an independent, try to move to another conference or stay in the AAC, which is considered a long shot. They are not considering dropping the program or moving to FCS.
There is expected to be a high cost associated with leaving the AAC — at least $10 million if the conference was given 27 months notice. That will not be the case with UConn, with the exit fee expected to be closer to $12 million, The Courant reported this week, with a first payment of $2.5 million due once the AAC is notified of the withdrawal. The Big East entry fee is believed to be about $2.5 million.
With the exact entry fee still unknown and likely to be negotiated, here is a look at what happened with past schools and the Big East and AAC:
Pittsburgh/Syracuse
When conference re-alignment began nationally earlier this decade, Pittsburgh and Syracuse announced they were leaving the old Big East in 2011. The exit fee for the conference was $5 million with a 27-month waiting period, but the universities paid $7.5 million in order to leave early. Both schools joined the ACC in 2013.
West Virginia
The Mountaineers were offered a chance to join the Big 12 shortly after Syracuse and Pittsburgh announced they would leave the Big East. West Virginia sued the Big East, claiming its contract with the conference should be voided because “The denigration of the Big East Conference is a direct and proximate result of ineffective leadership and breach of fiduciary duties to the football schools by the Big East Conference and its commissioner,” essentially blaming Big East commissioner John Marinatto for the problems with the conference.
The Big East responded by countersuing West Virginia, saying the school couldn’t leave the conference before the 27-month waiting period. Eventually the two sides settled out of court, and the conference was paid $20 million. West Virginia paid $11 million, while the Big 12 — which had just received over $24 million from the departures of Missouri and Texas A&M — paid $9 million.
West Virginia joined the Big 12 before the 2012 season.
TCU/Boise State/ San Diego State
TCU had planned to join the Big East in 2010 but eventually decided to reverse course and join the Big 12 after the commotion with the Big East. Though the Horned Frogs never played a game in the Big East, they departed at around the same time as Syracuse and Pittsburgh.
Boise State and San Diego State had both planned to join the Big East from the Mountain West and make up the Big East “West” division, but decided in late 2012 and 2013, respectively, that they would remain in the MVC. Because of language in their contract, SDSU did not pay an exit fee to the Big East.
However, Boise State and the Big East engaged in a yearlong legal battle, and by the conclusion the Big East had officially turned into the AAC. Boise State ultimately paid the AAC a $2.3 million exit fee, despite the fact that it never played a game in the Big East or the AAC.
Louisville
Louisville announced its departure from the AAC in 2014 and paid an $11 million exit fee. The school had first told the Big East it would leave in 2011 and would wait 27 months, but did play in the AAC during the 2013-2014 season and went on to win the men’s basketball conference tournament. After a lone season in the AAC, Louisville joined the ACC for the 2014-2015 season.
Rutgers
Rutgers was locked in a legal battle with the Big East/AAC while the Louisville situation was also being addressed. The Scarlet Knights planned to leave the Big East for the Big Ten (which also added Maryland from the ACC to get to 14 teams). The AAC wanted $15 million from Rutgers, but the school negotiated a smaller exit fee of $11.5 million. If the exit fee had been less than that of Louisville, the AAC would have had to return the difference to Louisville.
Like Louisville, Rutgers also spent one season in the AAC. No team has exited the AAC since Rutgers and Louisville in 2014, but the conference has added Wichita State as a basketball member.
UConn
Legally, the AAC is the heir of the old Big East, while the new Big East negotiated the rights to the conference name and the contract with Madison Square Garden for the Big East basketball tournament when the conferences split. The AAC walked away with about $100 million in the settlement. The money was divvied up and paid out over the following years.
If UConn does flip to the Big East, the conference will look similar to the one that was originally founded in 1979. Of the seven schools that founded the conference, only Boston College and Syracuse will not be members of the new Big East. Villanova, which joined in 1980, is also a current member of the Big East.
If UConn planned to leave the AAC after a 27-month waiting period, the school would be expected to pay an exit fee of $10 million. However, UConn is reportedly planning to join the conference for the 2020-2021 school year, which falls well inside the 27-month period. For reference, both Rutgers and Louisville exited the conference after a longer waiting period than UConn’s reported timeline and paid in excess of $10 million. That was also five years ago, so UConn will likely be expected to pay significantly more than that.