The Big East is dead! Long live the Big East!

ESPN is reporting that the 'Catholic 7' schools have finally agreed to keep the Big East name as they form their new conference. The parts of the article that surprised me...

• Joining the Catholic 7 schools -- DePaul, Georgetown, Marquette, Providence, St. John's, Seton Hall, and Villanova -- in the new "Big East" this fall will be Xavier and Butler, sources said.
  
  Creighton has emerged as the favorite to become the 10th team, and would also join next season, according to sources. - Really? So we'll have NYC teams playing against Nebraska teams?
• The departure of the Catholic 7 schools, which would officially begin their new league on July 1, also could mean Notre Dame joins the ACC this summer instead of 2014.
  
  Sources said Notre Dame has planned on remaining in the Big East for the 2013-14 academic year as long as the Catholic 7 schools did so. However, if those schools left before then, the Fighting Irish would also look to join the ACC this summer.
  
  If unable to join the ACC in 2013-14, the Fighting Irish would consider spending one season in the Catholic 7 league before moving to the ACC in 2014, a source said. - Notre Dame, whore of the world...how the heck would the Catholic 7 really start play this fall?
• While Butler, Xavier and, most likely, Creighton are expected to join the new Big East this fall, the Catholic 7 schools are also expected to add Dayton and St. Louis in 2014 for a 12-team league.- Wow...that's an interesting league then. Barely in existence and already looking to get bigger. Sheesh...
• In the past two years, 16 schools have left or announced they were leaving the Big East. - That's a pretty staggering number. Man...