Dive Brief:
- A settlement between Rutgers and the American Athletic Conference, formerly known as the Big East, will see the university pay an $11.5 million exit fee.
- The fee is $3.5 million less than what the conference initially wanted to bill Rutgers. It already paid $5 million and the remaining $6.5 million will be paid in installments over the next four years.
- The school is moving from the AAC to the Big Ten, which is more prestigious and will bring more revenue to Rutgers over time, but, contrary to its name, has more than 10 members.
Dive Insight:
There's another level to this story, as well, as Rutgers' athletic department actually loses money, leaving it open to criticism over its use of university funds. Those funds could, of course, be used to pay for scholarships or classroom facilities or more faculty — or a number of other things. That said, the university does want its athletic department to fund itself ASAP: It said so in the strategic plan it released last week.