Court Victory for AAC (Rutgers exit fee)

[ponyinNC]

http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2013/1 ... sland.html

This isn't related to the Maryland case in NC, but seems to indicate that conference bylaws are not "waived" simply because those bylaws are not enforced against other universities in similar situations:

Rutgers announced last year it was pulling its athletic teams out of the Big East to accept an invitation to join the more prestigious Big Ten conference in 2014. The university immediately filed a lawsuit arguing it should not have to pay a $10 million exit fee for leaving the Big East or wait the required 27 months to pull out because conference officials had bypassed those rules when other schools left in recent years.

The judge found the case should be heard in Rhode Island, where the court would have the authority to "compel" the two sides into arbitration.

Mike Aresco, commissioner of the American Athletic Conference, said he was happy with the judge’s ruling. "We are pleased that Judge Shipp recognized that the conference bylaws were validly amended and are enforceable, and that to the extent that Rutgers decides to proceed with its claims (which we think are without merit) it must do so in arbitration, as those bylaws require," Aresco said in a statement.

[East Coast Mustang]

Do we get a cut of their buyout fee?

[ponyinNC]

Do we get a cut of their buyout fee?

I think the fee would be distributed in the same proportion to the other exit fees/penalties that we split, where the legacy Big East teams received the Lion's share of the money.

[feelthehorsepower]

http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2013/1 ... sland.html

This isn't related to the Maryland case in NC, but seems to indicate that conference bylaws are not "waived" simply because those bylaws are not enforced against other universities in similar situations:

Rutgers announced last year it was pulling its athletic teams out of the Big East to accept an invitation to join the more prestigious Big Ten conference in 2014. The university immediately filed a lawsuit arguing it should not have to pay a $10 million exit fee for leaving the Big East or wait the required 27 months to pull out because conference officials had bypassed those rules when other schools left in recent years.

The judge found the case should be heard in Rhode Island, where the court would have the authority to "compel" the two sides into arbitration.

Mike Aresco, commissioner of the American Athletic Conference, said he was happy with the judge’s ruling. "We are pleased that Judge Shipp recognized that the conference bylaws were validly amended and are enforceable, and that to the extent that Rutgers decides to proceed with its claims (which we think are without merit) it must do so in arbitration, as those bylaws require," Aresco said in a statement.

I definitely want Rutgers to leave...the AAC should increase the exit fee and give us a cut of that money! $1 million don't hurt anybody!