Win or lose, Villanova has already added over $8.5 million to the Big East’s coffers by making it to the title game of the 2016 NCAA Tournament. Butler, Providence and Xavier have each brought more than $3.4 million back to the league by making it the Round of 32 and Seton Hall earned over $1.7 million just by being in the party for a day. This is the other side of winning in March that is so critical for the Big East. The 10 member schools that make up this configuration of the Big East conference have a lot in common as institutions, which is partly why they believe their marriage is made in heaven. Besides their love for basketball, the Big East member institutions don’t have the financial backing of their home state to help drive their athletic programs to championship heights.

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