West Virginia and the Big East reached a settlement Thursday night, agreeing verbally to a deal that lets the Mountaineers leave the conference to join the Big 12 by July 1, multiple sources with knowledge of the situation told the Post-Gazette.

The agreement includes a sizable financial payout by the Mountaineers to the Big East that when all told could climb to around a $20 million, said sources.

The figure is expected to include a cash payment of $11 million by West Virginia, but also may include money owed to the University by the conference.

A final figure could not be confirmed Thursday night.

A formal agreement, pending any last minute snags, is expected as early as Friday.