"Big East Basketball Five"

We, the undersigned, ask that the Presidents/Board of Regents of Georgetown, Providence, Seton Hall, St Johns and Villanova agree to establish a National Catholic Athletic Association, keeping the rights of the Big East name and trademarks, in the event of a break up of the existing Big East Conference, or the establishment of an amended Big East conference that diminishes our financial and national position among NCAA participants. We believe any creation of a limited geographical Eastern Regional Athletic Conference would create exposure and financial challenges for our universities in our collective pursuit of national athletic achievement. It would also have a negative effect upon our annual fundraising. While we understand that the demise of the Big East Conference is speculative, we request that you actively pursue a National Conference Alliance for our five universities, that ensures National attention, and the greatest opportunity for success in the NCAA. Please make every effort to establish an alliance with national programs such as DePaul, Marquette, Notre Dame, and Xavier that can deliver at the same or higher level of athletic and academic requirements outlined in the Big East Conference Charter.

We ask that you give our petition the serious consideration it deserves.