it puts the former on life support. In less than three weeks, it will have lost 9 of its 14 members.

At 5 members, it doesn’t qualify has a conference (a minimum of 6 is required). It could invite the independents but they might not be enticed.

Their TV contract is the worst of all conferences now, with its 14 members. The new conference will receive a fraction of the $400,000/school it now receives.