The seven non-Football Bowl Subdivision schools in the Big East have agreed to leave the conference and are debating the process of departing it, according to a source with knowledge of the situation.

Details are still to be determined for how the seven Catholic schools -- DePaul, Georgetown, Marquette, Providence, St. John's, Seton Hall and Villanova -- will leave the conference.

Big East commissioner Mike Aresco told the athletic directors of the remaining and incoming schools on Thursday evening that he expects the seven schools will leave the Big East, a source told ESPN. On the call, Aresco told the ADs that he had not officially heard from the seven schools that they were leaving.

According to the source, there is a lot of interpretation regarding exit fees, the waiting period, and on who gets the Big East name and Madison Square Garden for a conference basketball tournament.

The departing schools conducted a teleconference with Aresco on Thursday morning. They have scheduled a second conference call for Saturday, when they are expected to address these issues and possibly make an official declaration.

Because the seven schools are leaving as a group, they can use a league clause that eliminates the exit fee for a collective departure, a source told ESPN. However, the schools would have to honor the league's requirement to provide 27 months' notice.

The seven schools could negotiate an earlier exit, but the Big East would undoubtedly require some sort of financial compensation.

It's unknown who would keep the Big East name. The conference name typically stays with the members that remain in a league. However, the seven schools could argue the name should go with them because four of the seven Catholic schools (Georgetown, Providence, St. John's and Seton Hall) were founding members in 1979. UConn is the only Big East FBS member that was a founding member. Among the other founders, Boston College has left for the ACC, and Syracuse will join the Eagles after this season.

Initially, both the FBS and non-FBS schools believed, sources said, that the seven Catholic schools could dissolve the league by a two-thirds majority vote, which they have. However, a source with knowledge of the situation told ESPN on Thursday that the league may not be dissolved without at least two FBS and two non-FBS members each voting to do so.

That won't happen as only 10 full members -- the seven departing, non-FBS schools plus UConn, Cincinnati and South Florida -- remain in the conference and the FBS schools don't want the league to dissolve. Temple is a football-only member. The Owls will be full members next year but would not get a vote on dissolution this year.