Big East, Catholic 7 Confirm Conference Split

I'm not really sure what to make of this, but the Big East conference has split - with the current conference's seven Catholic institutions chartering the new Big East conference, which will keep the legendary name and Madison Square Garden, and is likely to expand with the addition of other Catholic schools, while the other members seek new homes in the ACC, Big Ten and a new conference altogether.

Now, granted I'm no expert in why athletic conferences split in the NCAA, but I find it curious that this split is being led by the Catholic institutions apart of the old Big East conference and that their potential new membership is also primarily Catholic, although three secular universities are also set to re-join the realigned Big East as well.

Maybe I'm reading into this too much, but I really don't understand the breakdown of this split between the secular and religious universities. Why are the Catholic institutions leading this? And why are the secularists by and large just forming a new conference?

So... What say you about this interesting realignment of the legendary Big East conference and the unusual nature of the religious vs. secular split involved?