Big East case ‘continues on a path toward trial’

Maybe Big John isn't going to cave so quickly after all! The longer Marinatto can hold out, the better the case for the BE. WVA will get more and more nervous as time passes, and therefore, more willing to settle for a higher exit fee. Now I'm not an attorney, so any lawyer's input here would be appreciated, but I believe that the BE's lawsuit will only become stronger once the B12 schedule is released to the public. With the B12's blessing, it could only strengthen the BE's case for an injunction.

http://collegefootballtalk.nbcsport...g-east-case-continues-on-a-path-toward-trial/

http://www.wvmetronews.com/news.cfm?func=displayfullstory&storyid=50865

and the fact still remains, that the big east has every legal right to schedule WVU in the fall, and the big 12 does not.

There's a drop dead date on the horizon for holding out on publishing schedules, although very few people actually know what it is, and they aren't going to talk about it. But it's there. The schedules are going to have to come out, there are too many football programs around the country that West Virginia has got tied up right now.

For every single big 12, and big east program that has a hole (holes) right now in their schedule, there's a program out there somewhere that will create another hole for somebody else, by taking a slot.

UConn is in great position, because UMass has gone 1-A, and we've got a full non-con schedule, if we end up having to fill with a one time 1-AA team, it's not going to affect our bowl opportunities at all.

Your banking on Marionette's market timing? If he holds out he'll get a better offer?

Does the BE have any BCS qualification issues in 2012 should we end up with only 7 football playing members? Is there any minimum number of teams the league is required to have in order to be considered BCS eligible in a given year?

As far as scheduling additional non-league games is concerned, as Carl mentioned, we MAY be all set, but other teams' back up plans are starting to gain some exposure.

http://www.fbschedules.com/2012/02/rutgers-syracuse-could-play-twice-in-2012/

Essentially yes. The longer he can hold out, the more likely it is to go to trial. A trail would likely be the worst outcome for WVA, as it takes their control of their own destiny out of their hands. The time line for a resolution to this mater is quickly decreasing and with it, so is the patience of potential playing partners. Not only are they racing against the calendar for scheduling purposes, but they're also looking at the potential for a trial fast approaching. With it, could come the biggest potential nightmare for WVA, the court imposed injunction! They have to be feeling a significant amount of heat in Ollie Luck's office right now.

To my knowledge, the only way the big east has an issue with BCS qualification in 2012, is if the big east fails to qualify as a recognized NCAA division 1-A football conference. This problem has a precedent, which was addressed in 2003. A conference must have a minimum of 8 institutions to be recognized by the NCAA, but a waiver was granted in 2003 based on the situation surrounding the big east.

I've mentioned this several times over the past few months, to this date, I have no idea if the Big East has been in contact with the NCAA to obtain a waiver of the 8 team minimum rule. Since I have heard nothing, my assumption is that they have not been in contact, and the conference will not address that issue, unless they absolutely have to, and in that case, nothing of course is guaranteed, but it seems highly unlikely that the NCAA would not issue a waiver of the 8 team minimum, since the Big East has clearly done everything it can to maintain 8 teams for the 2012 season, and will certainly meet the requirement by 2013.

There are numerous cases in which the NCAA has granted waivers for conferences under (isn't it six? it is in bball and hockey) teams to participate in postseason play and be recognized by the NCAA. There was a college hockey conference that earned an auto bid with five and then four teams for the better part of five years. One year of seven teams because of this won't be a problem.

But this isn't an NCAA rule/isssue, it is a BCS rule/issue....right?! I still don't think the BCS would look to enforce the rule because of the backlash they would get...but I don't think prior rulings from the NCAA are the same thing as the BCS making a determination.

The most interesting part of WVU's exit from the BE is how classless they are acting. What is the big deal to wait a year? Why don't they want to remain cordial to former partners?

I think Oliver Luck is a smart AD, but I don't get his "burned ship" strategy. He clearly must feel WVU will never do business with former partners. It's not like WVU is in a great recruiting area or easy to get to to make it attractive for opponents. How many former "rivals" care about playing WVU in the future in either basketball or football? Pitt? Not really. VT? No. Penn St.? No. Syracuse? Not really. MD? Maybe. Does he think the Big 12 is a LT stable conference and WVU will never need their former partners?

http://dailymail.com/News/breakingnews/201202090205

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. -- West Virginia University and the Big East Conference have reached a conditional agreement to settle their legal battles against one another, a source told the Charleston Daily Mail Thursday evening.
A formal announcement could be made as early as Friday. That is also when the Big 12 is set to release its 2012 conference football schedule, media outlets reported Thursday.

WV cannot keep the interest of its football fanbase without making this move. I would bet good money it was only offered the spot if it guaranteed it would do whatever necessary, by any means necessary, to be available for 2012. That athletic department cannot afford 60% attendance should interest wane due to the new conference "rivals" or a downturn in performance.

And dovetailing in a timely manner with the news from WVA is this news from Boise.

http://voices.idahostatesman.com/2012/02/09/bmurphy/boise_state_could_still_join_big_east_wac_2012

No small amount of change. WVU and the Big 12 put themselves in a position where a very hefty amount had to be coughed up. Next WVU waits to see if FSU is going after them for
their late cancellation. A very irresponsible university administration exists in Morgantown. Both they and the Big 12 must have been terribly boxed in through their own greed. It will
take a while to make up that amount of money. It will be hilarious and ironic if the Big 12 begins to fracture due to Texas greed in the next few years. Pitt and SU can be let go for $10M each for 2013,
also fair under the circumstances. $40M total, not bad really.

First off, to my knowledge, there has been no official announcement of any kind, and yesterday, media was reporting that this thing was a done deal for $11 mill. So until the official word comes, I don't put any weight on any of this.

What's safe to say, is that as more time passes, West Virginia continue to put football programs, quite literally across the entire country, in deep sh*t.

For every hole in one schedule that gets filled, there will be a hole created in somebody elses schedule, and football games are the lifeblood of any athletic department from d-1A to NAIA, and opening weekend is just over 6 months away.

THe UConn football program, isn't in bad shape in all of this. Some of our conference brethren, that actually want to be with us, are.

I think it's becoming less and less likely that WVU will be in the big east in 2012. I also think that a decent chunk of the money that they will owe the big east, will come from the $2.5 mill that they still owe on the exit fee, and the $6mill or so that they are owed based on previous accomplishments. Then of course, the damages on top of that, which most certainly are going to add up to mimimum, what it will cost the big east programs to fill their schedules. If that cost is what it takes to get Boise to get tot eh Big East by paying their exit fee from the west, and the entrance fee to teh big east, (another approx $8-9 mill) then so be it. If it's what it takes for each program to pay individually to schedule their own holes made by WVU, plus a percentage of what it's taking the other programs to fill two slots (the other left by TCU), because of the delay in publishing schedules, then so be that too. I think $20 million would be the bare minimum to cover those expenses.

Then there's the issue of legal fees.....lawyers, how does that work?

I also am unaware of any entrance fee that the big 12 might have, if they have one or not.

But - it's safe to say that all of that, is money that the state university of West Virginia, is pissing down the drain. I can't imagine how throwing that much moeny down the drain is going to go over in that state, and I really, can't figure out where the money is going to come from either.

The big east would probably deduct the money owed, but if they're budgeting over there in Morgantown with their athletic department in any fashion that makes sense (a big IF).....they've been expecting those millions coming in from the Big East to make their athletic department budget work.

Under the proposal, the Big East will receive $20 million in damages. The payments will come from both WVU and the Big 12. It’s believed that WVU will be responsible for approximately $10 million, which will include the $5 million buyout amount in the current contract. WVU has already paid $2.5 million to the Big East.

It’s expected that the Big 12 will pay the rest. A significant portion of that amount will be given to WVU by the league. A smaller amount will be paid back to the Big 12 by WVU in future years by taking less of an annual payment from the league.

WVU is expected to make its payment entirely from the athletic department and will include no taxpayer dollars, no academic monies and no student tuition money. The University sees the deal as an “investment” since the conference payouts from the Big 12 will be more than double the current $7 million WVU gets from the Big East.

Additionally, I believe it was stated in another article that the other 9 Big12 teams will kick in $1 million each, with WVU matching that amount, for a total of $10 million. This would be in addition to the $10 million being paid by WVU. The total then would be $20 million. WVU would then be expected to pay back their conference colleagues ($9 million) through deductions from their share of future Big12 revenues.