Rutgers Sues The Big East

[Alsacs]

All good points about exiting Big East teams paying MORE (except for TCU). But if anyone modeled their case on the West Virginia complaint, they are crazy. Any lawyer who read the WVU complaint would find it to be a steaming pile of poo. Very poorly drafted, even by West Virginia standards.

Not the actual WVU complaint but they are following the WVU model of per-emptively suing the BE before the BE can file suit in RI court and they are trying to speed up the waiting period which is what WVU's suit was all about. The WVU pleading was written poorly and has several mistakes it was probably written by a WVU Law Student 1L who hadn't finished Civ Pro yet.

 

[Cootface]

So very true. For a long long long time, rutgirls didn't put one plug nickel into the BE kitty. All they did was take take take. While other schools were going to bowl games or NCAA basketball tournaments or both and putting money into the BE kitty for disbursement to ALL achools, rutgirls was sitting at home watching on TV and accepting those BE welfare checks.

Whether it was the BE, the rutgirls general student fund or the state of NJ, all they did was have their hand out. Their claim to any fame is a Thursday night game 6 years ago and a few piddly paying bowl games that after expenses, probably netted the BE $1.89.

Now THEY want to sue? THEY wanted the increased fees. What a sad program.

So you're saying they're part of the 47%? And here I thought you were a raging liberal...

 

[All4SU]

. Their claim to any fame is a Thursday night game 6 years ago...

And that was a conference game, so in essence did nothing to raise the prestige of the conference. All it did was lower the perception of LVille.

 

[Scooch]

And that was a conference game, so in essence did nothing to raise the prestige of the conference. All it did was lower the perception of LVille.

Bingo. UL was on their way to a national title game appearance had there not been a monsoon and a dopey UL lineman hadn't jumped offside when Rutgers first missed the chipshot to win.

 

[xc84]

So, they want to get out of paying any exit fees? Why not just negotiate a lower fee, like SU and Pitt did? Also, the lawsuit "alleges the Big East has failed to collect $39.5 million in withdrawal fees from departing schools -- money that was set to be divided up among remaining members." Didn't we pay an initial installment when we informed them we were leaving? Maybe they are talking about money beyond that initial installment. That $39.5M would seem to include the entire WFVU portion and the remaining SU and Pitt money, if my math is right. I thought the remaining money owed was due at the end of the negotiated interim period. If so, how can they say the league failed to collect money not yet due? Did TCU ever pay the $5M they negotiated?

SU, Pitt, WV all negotiated a fee higher than the exit fee that existed at the time they announced they would leave. They paid more than the actual exit fee ...basically the added cost of leaving before the 27 month waiting period. Where does the $39.5 million figure come from?

 

[KaiserUEO]

good for them.

the big east is dead, they shouldnt have to pay.

and I hope Syracuse hasnt paid a dime either. and if they have, i want a refund STAT.

since the board went there......Syracuse should sue the bigeast too.

sue em on grounds of being the bellwether program in both football and hoop for 30+ years, and the conf was mismanaged and put shlit programs on the schedule. to hell with them.

Oh Lord

 

[Alsacs]

SU, Pitt, WV all negotiated a fee higher than the exit fee that existed at the time they announced they would leave. They paid more than the actual exit fee ...basically the added cost of leaving before the 27 month waiting period. Where does the $39.5 million figure come from?

7.5 million from SU and Pitt = 15
20 million from WVU. = 35
4.5 million from TCU? =39.5
That is my best guess, but even if the BE divided up that 39.5 by 13 teams RU would only get 3 million extra dollars. The other allegation RU is making is that the BE screwed RU out of a home game with TCU LOL. What a stupid allegation to make this is going to end up with RU playing more than 10 million to get out for 2014.

 

[oldpinepoint]

They probably want out of paying it because they can't afford it. Probably that simple.

 

[xc84]

7.5 million from SU and Pitt = 15
20 million from WVU. = 35
4.5 million from TCU? =39.5
That is my best guess, but even if the BE divided up that 39.5 by 13 teams RU would only get 3 million extra dollars. The other allegation RU is making is that the BE screwed RU out of a home game with TCU LOL. What a stupid allegation to make this is going to end up with RU playing more than 10 million to get out for 2014.

Ok...so I guess Rutgers is just talking about it being collected, not owed (which is why they used the word "collect"). I highly doubt that just because there has been no collection (if that is true), that the schools are off the hook. I am surprised they got no $ from TCU yet (if that's true).

 

[orange79]

We didn't negotiate a lower fee. We negotiated a higher fee in exchange for leaving early. IIRC, Big East had a $5 million exit fee (since raised to $1o million after our departure), but we paid $7.5 million in order to reduce the 27-month period.

Correct - I knew that, I was thinking about the lowered amount of time we would have to spend. Thanks for correcting.

 

[orange79]

That was the belief for a while.

TCU and the Big East did reach a settlement earlier this year. While some believe that they paid the full amount, I suspect the figure fell in the $1M-$3M range.

See the following articles for details:

http://www.bizjournals.com/memphis/...7/pitt-tcu-pay-big-east-40m-in-exit-fees.html

http://articles.courant.com/2012-07...0719_1_smu-and-houston-27-month-exit-exit-fee

Thanks - for a minute I thought I was losing my mind.

 

[Jeepers]

I'm pretty sure I remember hearing we paid half up front, but don't have anything to back that up.

 

[orange79]

I'm pretty sure I remember hearing we paid half up front, but don't have anything to back that up.

I don't know if it was half, but we needed to pay something when we 'officially' gave notice. $2.5M is sticking in my mind...

 

[690West]

The Big East should countersue for brand damage due to rutgers sucking a** for 18 of 20 years

 

[rrlbees]

I don't know if it was half, but we needed to pay something when we 'officially' gave notice. $2.5M is sticking in my mind...

Yea, $2.5m sticks in my mind too. 1/2 the $5m exit fee.

Sent from my DROIDX using Tapatalk 2

 

[reedny]

Tell Snooki and JWoww to find their checkbooks.

We didn't negotiate a lower fee. We negotiated a higher fee in exchange for leaving early. IIRC, Big East had a $5 million exit fee (since raised to $1o million after our departure), but we paid $7.5 million in order to reduce the 27-month period.

http://espn.go.com/college-sports/s...se-orange-leave-big-east-year-early-july-2013
http://valleyrave.com/syracuse-to-join-acc-next-year-pays-7-5m-early-exit-fee-5/

 

[OrangePA]

For the record, because I'm sure the question will be asked, I think Rutgers chances are better than Maryland's, because the Big East has been somewhat arbitrary in the way it has applied the exit requirements in the past couple years. The Big East has been all over the map. That will work to Rutgers' benefit.

Don't agree at all.

Rutgers will pay more than the stated fee- to leave early.

 

[OrangePA]

All good points about exiting Big East teams paying MORE (except for TCU). But if anyone modeled their case on the West Virginia complaint, they are crazy. Any lawyer who read the WVU complaint would find it to be a steaming pile of poo. Very poorly drafted, even by West Virginia standards.

Agree.

The WVU Complaint was very unimpressive.

 

[IthacaMatt]

Not the actual WVU complaint but they are following the WVU model of per-emptively suing the BE before the BE can file suit in RI court and they are trying to speed up the waiting period which is what WVU's suit was all about. The WVU pleading was written poorly and has several mistakes it was probably written by a WVU Law Student 1L who hadn't finished Civ Pro yet.

Actually, the Big East can't maintain a suit in Rhode Island even if they bring it there, if the other party wants to challenge them on it. They are not incorporated in Rhode Island, they are incorporated in the District of Columbia. So there is no basis to maintain a suit in Rhode Island, unless they were to sue or be sued by Providence, and the conference consented to it for convenience.

 

[IthacaMatt]

Don't agree at all.

Rutgers will pay more than the stated fee- to leave early.

Maybe so, but Rutgers has a better legal argument to avoid a surcharge because of TCU. No penalty was applied.

Sure, you can make the argument that they never played a game in the league, but they were members and signed the contract. The Big East acted with discretion in waiving the fee, but they were probably legally entitled to it.

I'm not saying Rutgers is going to get off, in part because the Big East doesn't have a $50M exit clause. If the Big East did, Rutgers would have a better chance than Maryland of reducing or overturning it, because of how the Big East has treated teams differently who left the conference in the past few years. One was let out altogether, one went to court and paid extra to leave the very next season, two others paid a little less extra to leave after 1 more season, and right now for the Big East to try to hold anyone to 27 months in the current state of college conference affiliations is maybe the worst part of the exit conditions.

 

[IthacaMatt]

good for them.

the big east is dead, they shouldnt have to pay.

and I hope Syracuse hasnt paid a dime either. and if they have, i want a refund STAT.

since the board went there......Syracuse should sue the bigeast too.

sue em on grounds of being the bellwether program in both football and hoop for 30+ years, and the conf was mismanaged and put shlit programs on the schedule. to hell with them.

Oh Lord

We don't sue people. We're SU. We'll be fine, and discretion has paid off for us. Nobody is pulling a UConn on our asses right now and blackballing us (possibly) over a lawsuit, or bad blood with a sports rival. Sometimes it's smart to be a good partner to work with.

 

[Alsacs]

Actually, the Big East can't maintain a suit in Rhode Island even if they bring it there, if the other party wants to challenge them on it. They are not incorporated in Rhode Island, they are incorporated in the District of Columbia. So there is no basis to maintain a suit in Rhode Island, unless they were to sue or be sued by Providence, and the conference consented to it for convenience.

http://espn.go.com/college-sports/s...west-virginia-enforce-27-month-waiting-period
Last year, the Big East sued WVU in RI court. While your probably right venue could be moved we would have to see if the partnership bylaws allowed litigation in RI court. It makes even less to have the headquarters in Providence if the Big East isn't incorporated in RI. However, most corporations are incorporated in Delaware so its not that uncommon. I would bet the BE is incorporated in DC and Delaware.

 

[rrlbees]

Don't agree at all.

Rutgers will pay more than the stated fee- to leave early.

Rutgirls will pay $15m.

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[xc84]

One was let out altogether, one went to court and paid extra to leave the very next season, two others paid a little less extra to leave after 1 more season, and right now for the Big East to try to hold anyone to 27 months in the current state of college conference affiliations is maybe the worst part of the exit conditions.

I'd say they were all treated pretty much the same. First, each must pay the assigned exit fee. Then, the 27 months has a value attached to it. WV wanted to leave really early. They had to pay a lot extra. Syracuse and Pitt stayed longer... so they had to pay less extra than WV. Think of it like a loan buyout/payoff. You have a 4 year term. If you want to buy yourself out of it after 1 year, it will cost more than it would after 3 years.

 

[SmilinBob]

Rutgirls will pay $15m.

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Agreed...the issue will be if they can swing the cash from SU, WV, Pitt and TCU into that payment.