Report

Does the NCAA offer a refund for the $5 million needed to go up?

That is their motivation....to make themselves available to the PAC or MWC as a emergency expansion candidate. I guess they could always go back to FCS is they fail to get an invite.

Yes, it was on the super-secret VIP board.

Because they suck ass at basically all sports.

Both Southern Miss and Marshall paid $1.75 million to Conference USA as "Consideration Paid to the Conference for Early Withdrawal". Here's a more detailed breakdown: Settlement Agreement: The three schools (Southern Miss, Marshall, and Old Dominion University) signed a "Confidential Settlement Agreement and Mutual Release" on March 29, which outlined the terms of their departure from C-USA. Exit Fee: The agreement stipulated that each school would pay $1.75 million to C-USA for leaving the conference early. Payment Timeline: Southern Miss had 30 days from the document's approval to pay the settlement. Sun Belt Entrance Fee Waived: Sun Belt Commissioner Keith Gill announced that the $3 million entrance fee for Marshall had been waived.