The Navy Midshipmen have officially charted course for the Big East, with a Tuesday afternoon announcement proclaiming their 2015 docking, but only for football. Whether they can help persuade the Air Force Falcons to lend air support remains to be seen. One thing they have accomplished, however, is blockading current conference members from escaping without paying a $10 million exit fee.
Big East Expansion: Navy’s 2015 Addition Doubles Exit Fee
As foretold long ago by commissioner John Marinatto, the admittance of either Navy or Air Force would double the conference’s current exit fee. Not sure who else is left that’s actually a target for another conference -- Louisville or Boise State for the Big 12, perhaps -- but there’s really little difference between a $5 million penalty and a $10 million one, when you really get down to the money at stake in conference realignment.
Still, the Mids have given up well over a century of football independence to join the same conference as DePaul basketball. Games against San Diego State should come with ready-made story lines, thanks to San Diego’s naval presence, but other than that ...
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