On the same day that the SEC released its 2013 conference schedule, one of its members decided to cancel a pair of series with out-of-conference opponents from the Big Ten.
According to the Chicago Tribune, Vanderbilt informed Northwestern via letter that it was cancelling its remaining series in 2013 and ’14. The games were set to take place for Sept. 14, 2013, in Nashville and Sept. 13, 2014 in Evanston. To make matters worse, Vanderbilt only had paid a smaller buyout for the series.
Then, according to Ohio State athletic director Gene Smith,Vandy dropped its game against Buckeyes in 2013, leaving OSU to scramble to find a game less than a year before the start of the next season.Vanderbilt doesn’t have to pay a buyout because it was a one-time game.
“Very disappointed that it happened this way,” Smith told the Cleveland Plain Dealer. “We have 11 months, and we didn’t get a phone call, we just got a letter. So I’m very disappointed in that.
“I would have preferred a phone call as opposed to a form letter, but that’s just the way it is.”
So, no phone call or email. Just a letter. Nice...
You can read Vanderbilt’s “reasoning” into the decision to cancel the games HERE.
Vandy’s new 2013 schedule includes games against Austin Peay, Massachusetts UAB and Wake Forest. So, there’s that.