Just before the start of 2013, and following months of speculation, Boise State announced it would not be joining the Big East conference, but rather staying in the Mountain West for all sports.
Now, the school is suing the Big East -- or, what will soon be the American Athletic Conference -- to get out of a $5 million cancellation penalty, according to the Idaho Statesman. The Statesman adds that Boise State officials say they filed the lawsuit in anticipation of a suit from the AAC.
Boise’s suit claims the AAC is a different organization than the one it previously planned to join, and therefore the cancellation fee is nullified.
“Boise State entered into that agreement in good faith and with a great degree of optimism, but the conference we agreed to join simply no longer exists,” said Boise State President Bob Kustra (pictured).
What kind of success Boise will have against the AAC remains to be seen, but it’s certainly not the first school to try to get out of paying an exit/cancellation fee in this age of realignment.
Seven basketball schools have broken off from the Big East and bought the rights to keep the league’s name, with the remaining football schools carrying on under the title. The AAC will eventually have 12 football members once Navy joins the conference in 2015.