The one odd thing about WVU filing a lawsuit so quickly (and filled with mistakes and typos) is why? Why go so drastically to the lawsuit? Not even an attempt to negotiate. This is some serious bridge burning. Not even the attempt to negotiate, make a bigger monetary offer. Nothing. It couldn’t purely be, because the Big East made previous statements about holding Pitt and Syracuse to 27 months.
If anything, trying to strong-arm their way out of the Big East would only force the Big East to dig in their heels a bit more. They can’t take a chance on then having to contend with more litigation from Pitt and Syracuse.
Well, what if the Big 12’s offer to WVU was contingent upon the Hoopies being in the Big 12 by 2012?
Neinas said West Virginia’s invitation to the Big 12 is contingent on the Mountaineers being available for the 2012 season. What? What does that mean? Does that mean if WVU can’t get out of its Big East commitments, the deal is off? Is that why West Virginia spent virtually no time negotiating with the Big East and went straight to a lawsuit? Big East bylaws declare a buyout ($5 million in this case) and a 27-month notification. What does the Big 12 do if West Virginia is handcuffed to the Big East in 2012?
“We needed a 10th member next season to fulfill our TV commitments,” Neinas said. “There’s an inventory that goes with a contract for TV, so we’ve got to be able to do that.”
In other words, the Big 12?s cushy cable contract with Fox Sports is kaput if the league has only nine members. If that contract loses some (or all) of its value, the Big 12 is back in anarchy mode.
It’s always about the money.
Stuck in the Big East for another year WVU? The deal is off? Well, after a big flurry of speculation, the Big 12 decided to issue a clarification:
From the Big 12 office: “WVU membership in the Big 12 is not contingent upon joining the conference for the 2012-13 season.”
Obviously WVU isn’t going to take that chance. Jumping straight to the lawsuit, still takes an extra air of desperation. WVU doesn’t want this going through a trial. They are looking for any and every way to force negotiations quickly. In fact, the WVU President made it vaguely clear yesterday that he doesn’t anticipate this ever going to trial.
Clements was peppered on the subject. He was asked if he was optimistic the lawsuit will be settled by July.
“Yeah, but I don’t want to make any comments on that issue,” he said.
There is no way it can be litigated by even July 1, 2012. The Big East could easily draw this out. Heck, even as much as the county court where this is filed may want to move it quickly, they have to proceed carefully. They will be applying Washington D.C. law, and will have to get some familiarity and extra time needed to check the law.
This bit of extra information, though, would appear to shift the edge even further to the Big East. Both in litigation and how much WVU may have to pay to leave by 2012. This information, on its face, would be reasonably considered an inducement by the Big 12 to breach their contract (Big East by-laws) with the Big East. Hello, joining the Big 12 in the lawsuit as a necessary party when the Big East files and answer and counterclaim. Adding time to the lawsuit.
The Big East is finally prepared to make moves to expand the conference. All reports are that as early as Friday, the formal invitations will be made to Navy, Air Force and Boise State for football only, while extending full membership offers to UCF, SMU and Houston. But both Mountain West and C-USA have one year waits before leaving. It’s unlikely — based on past departures (Louisville, Cinci and USF leaving C-USA in 2005, invited in 2004; and TCU last year along with BYU and Utah in the summer of 2010 for the MWC) that those will be waived.
The Big 12 has economic reasons for wanting WVU in the Big 12 immediately. Along with the TV contract, the other members would have to find an another non-con foe on short notice for 2012. Of course, that would be the same issue facing the Big East, but apparently that isn’t of any interest to the Big 12.
It matters to the Big East, though, about having a scheduling hole. It’s tough enough for the Big East to schedule 5 non-con games. Six would be ridiculous. Another factor would be the impact of giving into WVU, with regards to Syracuse and Pitt.
While Pitt and Syracuse have sat back — likely quietly trying to negotiate a deal — because they don’t need to rush out the door. They would not be quite as cooperative if they saw WVU able to strong-arm their way out early. The Big East might be able to get a waiver for only 7 teams in the conference for one year — like they did in 2004 — but not for only five teams. The Big East has every incentive to fight WVU tooth and nail on this.
As an aside and from the perspective of Pitt and Syracuse, I would hope they have approached the Big East about an offer to stay completely out of the WVU litigation mess — even possibly supporting the Big East — in exchange for getting out after 2012 and perhaps even paying a lower exit fee than WVU will have to pay to leave after 2012.
I want Pitt out of the Big East and to the ACC as soon as possible. The idea of an extra lame-duck year sucks. I fiercely despise the conference leadership, but I have no interest in seeing Pitt trying to actively screw the other Big East football schools. Those schools don’t deserve it. They have been equally victimized by the Big East leadership and split conference situation. Ultimately, spending 2012 in the Big East is not the worst thing in the world. Especially if it means an extra year of having Hoopie fans seethe and whine.
The obvious way to settle much of this depends on the Big 12 and Missouri. I don’t think Missouri has the stomach to fight the Big 12 too hard about leaving for the 2012 season. Especially since it is now November and they haven’t resolved anything (plus waiting another year means they can continue to dream the Big 10 will swoop in at the last minute). Increasingly, I have to believe Mizzou will be in the Big 12 in 2012-13 while Pitt, Syracuse and WVU hang-out for one last go-round in the Big East. The SEC will have to endure the horror of one season with 13 teams.
I am agreement that the other teams in the BE don’t deserve their fate (at least the football members). Lastly, I am glad of the WVU lawsuit since we are no longer Public Enemy No. 1 to the other BE schools.
I also don’t think that abandoning the Big East next year is fair to the remaining Football schools, but none of this is about what’s fair or right…
I like Chas’ idea that Pitt should go to the Big East and see if a pledge not to get involved in the litigation would do anything. I also wonder if WVU approached Pitt and Syracuse to see if they would join the suit.
It is funny that the Big 12 is encouraging West Virginia to violate its contract withe Big East so that the Big 12 will not violate its contract with Fox.
It is my personal opinion that this change in landscape we are seeing is directly due to the lack of leadership amoung the Big East and the greed of a few schools in the south.
Yes, it is about money, but a conference tv contract being pulled in any way shape or form will destroy non-money athletics at universities. Money is a factor, but from my standpoint it almost seems like an attempt to preserve and stablize rather than make the bid for more cash. That is how I see Pitt right now, safe. And I am pretty sure that is what every other team in the Big East wants right now.
It makes sense in a couple ways:
1) By only inviting 3 schools for football only it keeps the Basketball ONLY schools in Control.
And that is paramount for schools like Providence, Seton Hall & DePaul.
2) The 2 of the 3 invited for football ONLY, are like in the Mountain Time Zone, Boise & AirForce.
Besides the rigors of basketball season travel, the BigEast Monday & Weds nite TV games would be on at 5pm Mountain Time. Which is ludicrous.
And if indeed Navy came on board, they’d be a basketball doormat.
So it does indeed make sense for Providence.
In short, the Big East was trying to perform its “fiduciary obligations”, but WVU didn’t give them the chance.
You think we’ve got problems
So much of this could have been avoided if the Big East football schools had gone their own way in the late 1990s and told the basketball schools to stick it.
Really, though, it goes back much farther. The NCAA used to control its member football schools with an iron grip, which was broken in the courts. The explosion of cable and satellite TV eventually turned the conferences into a bunch of money hungry mad dogs. Career Congressmen are the only bunch who can match the greed of the college conferences now. There is no controlling body over the conferences and maybe they (the conferences) will destroy the whole thing.
Pitt and SU, do the classy thing. Don’t say a word in public, help the BE behind closed doors, and in turn gracefully get out of the BE in time for the 2013 season. You will be the poster-child of how to leave a conference the “right way.”
The basketball schools will continue to dominate the conference if all the invited teams accept. Totally agree also that the three all sports teams will drag the conference down in basketball. That is the reason Pitino and Brey are pushing so hard for Temple and Memphis although I cannot see Temple getting in unless it is over Villanova’s still, cold body.
I am hoping with Chas that Pitt and Syracuse get to leave the conference and join the ACC for the 2013-2014 season. That is a big leap of faith though in that it assumes that the Big East leadership is:
a)logical and b)competent.
Unfortunately I have not seen them exhibit any of those characteristics lately.
The 3 teams being added for all sports, Houston, SMU & UCF are not very good in hoops. That should make marginal (at best) programs like Providence and Seton Hall and St. John’s and Rutgers very happy. They might now have a better chance to get an NCAA tourney bid.
Marinara always is thinking on their behalf mind you. They must ply him with Chianti and linguine and maybe a little Anisette.
I hope WV will get what they want and can move to the Big 12 next season. We may dislike WV but they kept Big East football in the top 25 polls almost every season since VA Tech and Miami left for the ACC. Let’s give WV some credit for trying to get out of the Big East because the BE conference will no longer be a football BCS qualifier in a few years not matter what teams join the BE.
We also may not like our AD but he and our Chancellor did a good job in securing a conference for Pitt where they can be competitive and their fans can get to away games in a warmer climate. HTP!
Just wondering, since we’re spending so much time on an issue that will have so many twists and turns over the next few months that whatever time is wasted on analysis by us in the here and now amounts to zero in the final deal pounded out by the scum sucking attorneys in some back room in the future.
You make some good points. My main point is that no conference can exist cohesively when the interests are split like that, especially when football is the big money maker. I know hoops are crucial to schools that don’t have football like DePaul, Providence, etc, but that’s precisely why the hoops schools need to split off and form their own league. That way the clowns in Providence can run that league and the football schools that remain can have their own leadership looking out for their interests.
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