Of course. You know the drill by now.
Rutgers, one of two new members of the Big Ten conference, is suing the Big East in an attempt to get out paying the league’s $10 million exit fee and waiting 27 months to depart, per league bylaws. The lawsuit, filed in Middlesex County Court, was reported by courthousenews.com.
“Upon information and belief, the new withdrawal fee of $10 million arbitrarily applies to some, but not all, of the Big East football schools, and the effect is to penalize certain members if they seek to withdraw,” the complaint states. “Moreover, the Big East’s excusal of noncompliance by Syracuse, Pittsburgh, TCU, and WVU with the 27 month notice provision of the Bylaws constitutes a waiver of this same provision with respect to Rutgers.”
“The court should accordingly enter an order declaring the Bylaws to be void and of no effect as between the parties, permitting Rutgers to withdraw from The Big East prior to July 1, 2015, or in alternative, declaring that The Big East has waived Rutgers’ obligation to abide by the 27 months notice provision and the requirement of a withdrawal fee.”
Additionally, Rutger is claiming the Big East owes it money for failing to collect nearly $40 million in withdrawal fees from the aforementioned former members. That money was supposed to be distributed among Big East member institutions. Rutgers also claims the Big East “turned a blind eye” to $1.3 million the Scarlet Knights did not receive from losing a home game against TCU.
Rutgers nor the Big East have commented on the suit.
Maryland, the other Big Ten acquisition, is also suing the ACC to try to get out of paying the conference’s $50 million exit fee.