Late Monday night, the Western Athletic Conference sent out the following press release: “WAC Commissioner Karl Benson will hold a teleconference on Tuesday, September 14, at 11:30 a.m. (MT) to address the departure date of Fresno State and Nevada.”
Part of the address, apparently, will also include the legal means the conference is pursuing in order to keep the two schools in the conference for as long as possible.
According to the Reno Gazette-Journal, the WAC will file a lawsuit against the Mountain West Conference, Nevada and Fresno State. The move appears to be a response to a late-August letter sent by both schools informing the conference they intend to leave for the MWC after the 2010-2011 school year.
Nevada and Fresno State announced Aug. 13 that they would be leaving the WAC for the MWC.
“On behalf of President [Milton] Glick, we’re disappointed by this,” Nevada official Jane Tors told the paper in acknowledging the school is aware of the lawsuit. “The primary reason we’re disappointed is the suit was filed before any discussions had ensued. We had publicly indicated that these matters can be resolved and that they should be resolved directly between the parties.”
The WAC is attempting to restrict the two schools from leaving the conference before June 30, 2012, in addition to requiring each of them to pay a $5 million penalty.
In late August, and regarding the latter, Benson stated that “the WAC fully expects to receive the $5 million from both Fresno State and Nevada and will take legal recourse if necessary to obtain the money.”
Apparently, Benson ain’t bluffing. For now, at least.