‘Catholic 7’ negotiating TV deal with Fox, according to report

The big seven Catholic basketball-only schools who decided to split from the Big East are meeting with representatives from FOX about a potential TV deal, according to a report from Pete Thamel of Sports Illustrated. There’s still plenty of uncertainty surrounding the new conference, and Thamel reports that this is the first official round of negotiating towards a contract for television rights.

Georgetown, Villanova, Seton Hall, St. John’s, Providence, Marquette, and DePaul are the seven schools that announced they would break away from the Big East after that conference scrambled to add football members scattered throughout the country. Attorneys representing the “Catholic Seven” are reportedly negotiating with Larry Jones, the COO of Fox Sports. They’re targeting a 12-year deal that will hopefully land each member around $3 million per year.

Once the seven schools announced their split, attention immediately turned to other basketball schools that could be added to round out the new league. Xavier and Butler came to the top of the list, while Creighton, Saint Louis, and Dayton were other schools mentioned. Thamel writes that the league is expected to expand to 12, and the final spot could come down to either SLU or VCU, which he reports is making a recent push to join the league.