I understand the part where dissolving the conference essentially lets Pitt, Cuse, ND, Rutty, Ville, and C-7 off the hook (unless of course there is a date where they can do it and get Syracuse and Pitt). But keep in mind that by not dissolving the league, it means that the aforementioned money will be split up with SMU, Houston, UCF, Temple*, Memphis, Tulane, ECU, and Navy. Also, it will mean that we will have to pay an exit fee ourselves if and when the situation arises.
The REAL question for me is; If the conference dissolves, who gets the next six years worth of NCAA credits that the Big East has already earned??? (really, that UConn earned!!!) I think that NCAA money has to weigh even more heavily in our minds than anything else due to the size of the payout, and I would love to hear from anyone who knows that answer.
Uggh. Don't get me wrong; I STILL believe that independence is not the right answer, because it is extremely difficult to insure a schedule year to year that is worth a damn (we can't seem to do it WITH a conference!). I'm thinking more of linking up with another conference in the short-term (i.e., MW) or some sort of elaborate alliance like HFD has mentioned (which will almost insure that we never see the BCS again). Lot's of money to juggle right now, and it all depends on who gets it and how much...