PITTSBURGH -- Pittsburgh's bitter breakup with the Big East finally has an official separation date.

Pitt and the conference announced Wednesday that the school will pay $7.5 million to join Syracuse in leaving the Big East for the Atlantic Coast Conference on July 1, 2013. The Big East reached a similar deal with Syracuse earlier this week.

The agreement with Pitt includes the $5 million the school already paid after it announced it was switching leagues last September. It also puts an end to an acrimonious split between Big East and one of its longest standing members.

"We are anxious to compete in our final season in the Big East and look forward to an exciting future in the Atlantic Coast Conference," Pitt athletic director Steve Pederson said in a statement.

The Big East later Wednesday night confirmed it had dropped its lawsuit seeking $5 million from TCU for on a commitment to join the league and instead joining the Big 12. The conference said in a statement that "TCU has fully discharged its obligations to the Big East ..."

Conditions of the settlement were not released, but a person familiar with it told The Associated Press the Big East will receive $5 million from TCU. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because no announcement was to be made on the agreement.

As for Pittsburgh, the school initially agreed to abide by the 27-month waiting period required by Big East bylaws for a team exiting the conference, which would have kept the Panthers in the league until July 1, 2014. Things got ugly in May when the school filed a lawsuit in Pennsylvania claiming the Big East waived its right to enforce a withdrawal notice after letting West Virginia leave for the Big 12 early.

The Panthers argued because the Big East allowed West Virginia to depart immediately -- after paying a hefty $20 million exit fee -- the conference could no longer hold Pitt to the 27-month withdrawal notice. The goal wasn't to go to court but to force the Big East to get serious about settling.

After a dramatic year in which the beleaguered conference lost three key members before reconstituting itself by extending invitations to a number of schools -- including Central Florida, Memphis and Temple -- the Big East is ready to move on.

"This is another step for the Big East to take toward a very exciting future," interim Big East commissioner Joe Bailey said in a statement. "With the addition of our eight new members, the Big East will be incredibly strong and vibrant."

It also clears up what has been a murky immediate future for the Panthers. First-year football coach Paul Chryst insisted the conference talk was never a distraction and says the goal is to win no matter which league the Panthers play in.