Creighton University, along with Butler and Xavier will join the new Big East basketball conference starting in the fall, according to ESPN. The schools have not officially withdrawn from their current conferences, but an announcement is expected this week. Creighton will leave the Missouri Valley Conference, a conference they’ve been affiliated with since 1928 with the exception of 1949 to 1975 when the school withdrew from the conference.
The new conference will also include the Catholic 7 schools — DePaul, Georgetown, Marquette, Providence, Seton Hall, St. John’s and Villanova. It is being reported that the schools will play an 18-game, round-robin schedule next season and play its conference tournament at Madison Square Garden.
The Chicago Tribune reports that Creighton will join the league for the 2013-14 school year, the move becoming official by Wednesday or Thursday. The step up to the Big East will be a big boost to Creighton’s bottom line. The new league has a TV contract lined up with Fox that reportedly will pay league schools at least $3 million a year.
The Big East began a search for a new commissioner.