Since announcing its intentions last November to move from the ACC to the Big Ten, Maryland has been tied up in a legal battle with the ACC over the conference’s $52 million exit fee.
Last month, Maryland filed a motion to dismiss the contract suit asking the Terps to pay every last penny of the exit fee. Maryland counsel argued that a North Carolina court, where the ACC suit was filed, has no jurisdiction over Maryland and that the university has sovereign immunity from such suits.
But perhaps not surprisingly, North Carolina judge John O. Craig III doesn’t see it that way. Per the Associated Press, Craig denied Maryland’s motion to dismiss the ACC’s lawsuit. Where Maryland goes from here hasn’t been determined yet, but given the amount of money at hand, not to mention the university’s current financial problem, it’s hard to believe the Terps are anywhere near ready to give up and fork over over $50 million-plus.
The ACC has maintained it will hold Maryland to that amount. Historically, that hasn’t even held water. But at least for today, mark this as a win for the ACC.