ACC and Maryland Reach Legal Agreement...

[OrangeXtreme]

http://www.theacc.com/#!/news-detail/agreement_08-08-14_lryjmo

GREENSBORO, N.C. – The Atlantic Coast Conference and the University of Maryland announced today they have reached a mediated agreement that ends all litigation between both parties.

Maryland has agreed that the ACC will keep the sum of $31,361,788 previously withheld in order to resolve the lawsuits, and the ACC has agreed that Maryland will have no obligation to make any other payments to the ACC. In addition, the lawsuits filed in the State of North Carolina and Maryland will be dismissed.

 

[jr4750]

Huh, well that's less than 52, so who wins?

 

[dasher]

Huh, well that's less than 52, so who wins?

As in most cases, no one other than the lawyers.

 

[texascpa]

Well, that's not good.

 

[Toga]

So much for my $37.5M prediction. Kind of disappointing in that they already Had the $31.3M

 

[Scooch]

BUT THE WHISPERS?!?!

:rolling:

Looks like we finally got to the point where both parties realized "what the hell are we doing, let's just end this".

 

[SUFaninNJ]

Maryland gets to be in a conference with Rutgers. Shouldn't they at least get pain and suffering?

 

[Chip]

BUT THE WHISPERS?!?!

:rolling:

Looks like we finally got to the point where both parties realized "what the hell are we doing, let's just end this".

Right, and if you're the ACC, you get over 50%, declare victory, and move on with the more attractive athletic department you replaced them with.

If that means your existing members are thinking "hey we can get out of this league for only a mere $31.4M!", then so be it.

 

[Scooch]

Right, and if you're the ACC, you get over 50%, declare victory, and move on with the more attractive athletic department you replaced them with.

If that means your existing members are thinking "hey we can get out of this league for only a mere $31.4M!", then so be it.

Yup. Plus, it's $31 million AND leaving their media rights with the ACC until 2028 or something.

No one's leaving. No clue why some folks were adamant the ACC had to extract 10 pounds of flesh here to show strength.

 

[44PRIDE]

My thoughts:

Win for MD: I don't think anyone expected them to get hit with the full $52m. But everything I read said that we should've expected a hit greater than the withheld funds. The fact that no further penalties were asessed is huge.

Win for ACC: I'm sure the ACC and MD didn't want this to turn into a mud slinging contest...which it could have if it moved from the NC court system.

Win for any school looking to switch conferences: In this age of Monopoly money, MD just set the bar for future inter-conference moves. And the bar was set low...

 

[memcorsu]

Huh, well that's less than 52, so who wins?

Maryland is broke and now broker...
We get a nice check to pay for upgrades.
I vote Sidat statue first.

​

 

[44PRIDE]

Yup. Plus, it's $31 million AND leaving their media rights with the ACC until 2028 or something.

I will say this...Watch out for conference realignment starting in 2026/27/28.

Once schools have built up their war-chest with TV money (and the fear of lost media rights is gone) we will see the next round of realignment. My guess is the moves will be big.

(Texas to the Pac... B12 implosion)

 

[Scooch]

I will say this...Watch out for conference realignment starting in 2026/27/28.

Once schools have built up their war-chest with TV money (and the fear of lost media rights is gone) we will see the next round of realignment. My guess is the moves will be big.

(Texas to the Pac... B12 implosion)

Sure, maybe.

Honestly, the internet has been a much better place since the realignment talk died. If it doesn't rear it's head again for a decade we'll all be better for it.

 

[44PRIDE]

C'mon man...don't you miss "The Dude" and "Frank the Tank" along with updates from Orangebloods?

 

[sdhusky]

I will say this...Watch out for conference realignment starting in 2026/27/28.

Once schools have built up their war-chest with TV money (and the fear of lost media rights is gone) we will see the next round of realignment. My guess is the moves will be big.

(Texas to the Pac... B12 implosion)

I wondering if its a coincidence that this agreement is made the day after the P5 decision can down. Could the B1G & ACC made some kind of gentlemen's agreement re: MD and further poaching?

Seems like the P5 would want to have period of stability right now and not any contentious lawsuits going on.

 

[dasher]

I wondering if its a coincidence that this agreement is made the day after the P5 decision can down. Could the B1G & ACC made some kind of gentlemen's agreement re: MD and further poaching?

Seems like the P5 would want to have period of stability right now and not any contentious lawsuits going on.

Perhaps. An interesting thought.

 

[Scooch]

I wondering if its a coincidence that this agreement is made the day after the P5 decision can down. Could the B1G & ACC made some kind of gentlemen's agreement re: MD and further poaching?

Seems like the P5 would want to have period of stability right now and not any contentious lawsuits going on.

I'm sure it's a coincidence.

There won't be any poaching for a while for lots of reasons, but these guys are not gentlemen and there won't be any agreements. They'd sooner rip each other's throats out.

 

[MaxwellCuse]

No winners or losers in this settlement. Unless you consider Randy Edsell in the B1G 10, then maybe you can claim a victory of sorts for the ACC.

 

[44PRIDE]

I wondering if its a coincidence that this agreement is made the day after the P5 decision can down. Could the B1G & ACC made some kind of gentlemen's agreement re: MD and further poaching?

Seems like the P5 would want to have period of stability right now and not any contentious lawsuits going on.

Genuine question
How would delaying this agreement until after the P5 announcement be of any benefit /detriment to either the B1G or ACC?

Not saying you aren't right...

 

[sdhusky]

Genuine question
How would delaying this agreement until after the P5 announcement be of any benefit /detriment to either the B1G or ACC?

Not saying you aren't right...

It's just a crazy theory... but I don't think it was delayed, just that some people got together and said we don't want any messy lawsuits so get this resolved now that the P5 deal is in place.

I think we won't be seeing any moves for a while

 

[MSOrange]

I will say this...Watch out for conference realignment starting in 2026/27/28.

Once schools have built up their war-chest with TV money (and the fear of lost media rights is gone) we will see the next round of realignment. My guess is the moves will be big.

(Texas to the Pac... B12 implosion)

I've heard rumors about Oklahoma to the Big 10. Know anything about that SU2NASA ?

 

[syr02esq]

I've heard rumors about Oklahoma to the Big 10. Know anything about that SU2NASA ?

I'm in Big 12 country. It's not happening. OU is sitting pretty without having to play a conference championship. Easiest road to a NC.

 

[BlazeOrange]

Genuine question
How would delaying this agreement until after the P5 announcement be of any benefit /detriment to either the B1G or ACC?

Not saying you aren't right...

1 - The news is hidden among discussions about the P5, minimizing talk of winners and losers and the ensuing grumbling (except among diehards like us)

2 - The thought could be that the P5 will soon be rolling in dough, so it wouldn't be worth the hassle to continue the lawsuit. Agreement in principle could've been made at any time and just waited until the P5 formation was finalized.

2a - With the new P5 agreement looming, the parties involved in the lawsuit realized that their time/$$ would be better spent in planning new initiatives within it. Now that it's official, any time someone spends on the MD/ACC case is time that they could've devoted to figuring out how to gain additional advantages going forward.

 

[SUFaninNJ]

I'm in Big 12 country. It's not happening. OU is sitting pretty without having to play a conference championship. Easiest road to a NC.

I think he meant that tongue in cheek as that was the common realignment talking point that came up on a regular basis.

 

[HtownOrange]

The settlement is also a mark on reality. MD was not likely to ever see the withheld payments and the ACC was unlikely to actually get a dime from a broke government entity. Both sides asked themselves "Why keep paying lawyers?"

The B1G probably pressured MD to settle, too. They certainly did not want the truth revealed about who they have been targeting the past decade or who they will target in 10-15 years. The ACC is in a similar boat. It was time to settle, both sides walk away better off tan they were before the lawsuit; MD isn't paying $52MM and the ACC gets some cash in return.