Big East Expansion: Conference Votes To Increase Exit Fees If Navy Or Air Force Join

According to a report from Brett McMurphy, the conference members voted to increase the league exit fee from $5 million to $10 million, contingent on either Navy or Air Force joining the conference. The vote was unanimous.

It is expected that the increased financial commitment from the current members is enough to entice either Navy or Air Force (or both) to join the conference as football-only members. However, it news that broke just an hour or so before the scheduled call between the Big East presidents, the New York Times reported that  a university official with knowledge of the situation confirmed Missouri leaving the Big 12 for the SEC was nearly a done deal.

The person said that Missouri’s decision to apply for membership to the SEC was "inevitable and imminent," although a specific timeframe has yet to be set. Missouri’s Board of Curators will meet on Thursday and Friday at the University of Missouri-Kansas City, where the process of withdrawing from the Big 12 and applying to the SEC is expected to begin.

Conventional wisdom would suggest that neither Navy or Air Force will accept a Big East invitation so long as Louisville (and/or West Virginia and Cincinnati) are targets of the SEC and remain uncommitted to the Big East. In reality, the difference between $5 and $10 million is minimal to those schools considering the increase in revenue that a switch in conference would bring for them at this point.

So another night, no real news. The story continues to be that without commitment, this conference isn't going to be saved.