AP - New York
December 30, 2012
The University of West Virginia has filed a complaint in a federal court in Manhattan alleging that Syracuse University has breached an implied contract between the two schools by failing to honor its commitment to risk the Schwartzwater Trophy in the 2012 Pinstripe Bowl. The Schwartzwalter Trophy is a trophy designed by Jim Ridlon, a former Syracuse student and player, and it was made to honor Ben Schwartzwalter, a former West Virginia student who went on to become a famed Syracuse University football Coach. The trophy was made in 1993 and has been awarded to the winner of the game between the Syracuse University Orange and the University of West Virginia Mountaineers ever since.
Past games in this rivalry have been heated, but there has been little controversy in the trophy. Both teams were in the BIG EAST conference, so they played each other every year. However, recent conference realignment has driven West Virginia to the Big 12 conference, and Syracuse University plans on departing to the Atlantic Coast Conference after this school year. Ultimately, even though both schools have played yearly games since 1955, the 2012 Pinstripe Bowl, which was played yesterday, may be the last meeting between the two foes for a number of years.
Oliver Luck, West Virginia’s athletic director, has characterized the loss of the Syracuse v. West Virginia annual game as “unfortunate collateral damage” that is the result of the University of West Virginia’s move to the Big XII and Syracuse’s move to the ACC. However, on multiple occasions, he has publicly reassured Mountaineer fans that the University of West Virginia is in a stronger position as a result of the move, and that he would do everything in his power to compel Syracuse University to put the Schwartzwalter Trophy up for grabs.
“I think that it is ridiculous that Syracuse won’t risk the trophy” he said. “West Virginia and Syracuse have a long and storied tradition, and it is sad to think that the Orange are too yellow to risk the trophy. If West Virginia had the trophy, we would put it up for grabs. I don’t care if we played them in a Wal-Mart parking lot. It is just unfortunate that our current scheduling condition prohibits us from playing them in the foreseeable future” he further remarked.
The University of West Virginia’s athletic department recently ended litigation with the BIG EAST, so it is no stranger to the courtroom. However, a lawsuit asking for the equitable remedy of “specific performance” in the form of forcing a school to post-emptively risk a rivalry trophy is unprecedented in college sports. Furthermore, it is also unclear what the lawsuit would accomplish. Syracuse beat West Virginia by a score of 38 to 14 in a game that many are calling “the beat-down in the Bronx,” so the Schwartzwalter Trophy would remain in Syracuse’s possession anyway.
When asked to comment on the situation Daryl Gross, Syracuse University’s athletic director responded that “[t]he university is currently exploring its legal options” and that “the university will not make any further statements until we better understand our position.”
However, a university official who declined to speak on the record characterized the University of West virginia’s lawsuit as “unnecessary and pointless drum beating.” They went on to say that “the Mountaineers don’t really have a case. [Oliver Luck] is just trying to stir the Mountaineer faithful into a crazed frenzy to distract them from West Virginia’s poor performance in the actual game.”
Diana Lee, a professor of contract law at New York University’s School of Law, remarked that “this entire lawsuit is crazy. Not only is there no implied contract, but there are no actual damages. This case should, and will be, thrown out immediately.
Still, when asked, Mr. Luck remains “confident”in his school’s chances.
By Mark Matzinni
