Big East Possible Agreement With WVU

[2000bull]

I am saying If the BE would have done this agreement a month ago it would have been Boise St, now the replacement for WVU in 2012 will be Memphis, since they will be the option that appears to be able to move first out of ConfUSA, if Pitt and Cuse want out you are right pay and get someone in.

And IF WVU had tried to find a solution instead of filing suit, this could have been resolved months ago. Don't tell me this only got done because WVU filed suit. If WVU had gone groveling to the BE and said we need out next year, we are willing to pay and we are willing to work on scheduling solutions, this could have all gotten done. WVU filed suit because WVU did not want to pay the $20mil plus other damages. They are now stuck and realize this is the best deal they are going to get. So now WVU is ready to deal. To put this on the BE is ridiculous. WVU is the one changing the terms of the deal, not the BE.

that is not at all true - marinotto stated from day one they intended to hold WVU (and Pitt and SU) to the 27 months, no if ands or buts. WVU from the day they announced they were leaving made it clear they were leaving effective June 30, 2012.

WVU has always been willing to negotiate a fair settlement and part ways. The BE offices would have dragged this out for as long as possible if WVU had not filed the suits. The suit was brought more with the intention of getting/forcing the BE to the negotiating table and stop the delays.

so 5 mill and 27 months wasn't fair? why did WVU originally agree to it, if it wasn't fair?

[SoFlaEer]

I am saying If the BE would have done this agreement a month ago it would have been Boise St, now the replacement for WVU in 2012 will be Memphis, since they will be the option that appears to be able to move first out of ConfUSA, if Pitt and Cuse want out you are right pay and get someone in.

And IF WVU had tried to find a solution instead of filing suit, this could have been resolved months ago. Don't tell me this only got done because WVU filed suit. If WVU had gone groveling to the BE and said we need out next year, we are willing to pay and we are willing to work on scheduling solutions, this could have all gotten done. WVU filed suit because WVU did not want to pay the $20mil plus other damages. They are now stuck and realize this is the best deal they are going to get. So now WVU is ready to deal. To put this on the BE is ridiculous. WVU is the one changing the terms of the deal, not the BE.

that is not at all true - marinotto stated from day one they intended to hold WVU (and Pitt and SU) to the 27 months, no if ands or buts. WVU from the day they announced they were leaving made it clear they were leaving effective June 30, 2012. WVU has always been willing to negotiate a fair settlement and part ways. The BE offices would have dragged this out for as long as possible if WVU had not filed the suits. The suit was brought more with the intention of getting/forcing the BE to the negotiating table and stop the delays.

Marianetto's statement was merely a negotiating point. What was he supposed to say? "We think WVU should be able to just walk away." Let's be realistic here, he was saying what he HAD to say all the while knowing they were headed to a negotiation. WVU administration does not know what could have been accomplished because the administration chose to immediately go to the courts rather than try to negotiate first. It is blatently obvious that WVU was simply trying to gain leverage to reduce the damages they would have to pay. And it has backfired.

your reply is pretty much nothing but opinion and conjecture on your part. there are no facts there - you dont really know whether or not the BE offices were only saying what they had to - nor do you know what wvu's intentions were - you are simply jumping to your own conclusion there without any proof, but stating it as if it is factual.

i look at the exact same set of circumstances that you do and reach a completely different conclusion than you, which is my opinion. you cannot prove what you are asserting. i saw the lawsuits simply as a way to expedite the process and get to the bargaining table sooner. from what i saw, the BE was knuckle dragging and would have continued to do so had they not been forced to respond.

and we wont know what backfired or didnt until this all gets concluded. if it turns out to be arounf 20MM all said and done, that is what most were saying it would cost from the beginning - wvu knows they are breaching a contract and there will need to be compensation for that.

[South_Florida_Flip]

Your last line says it all. Why bother agreeing to anything in the first place?

[GaUSFBull]

I am saying If the BE would have done this agreement a month ago it would have been Boise St, now the replacement for WVU in 2012 will be Memphis, since they will be the option that appears to be able to move first out of ConfUSA, if Pitt and Cuse want out you are right pay and get someone in.

And IF WVU had tried to find a solution instead of filing suit, this could have been resolved months ago. Don't tell me this only got done because WVU filed suit. If WVU had gone groveling to the BE and said we need out next year, we are willing to pay and we are willing to work on scheduling solutions, this could have all gotten done. WVU filed suit because WVU did not want to pay the $20mil plus other damages. They are now stuck and realize this is the best deal they are going to get. So now WVU is ready to deal. To put this on the BE is ridiculous. WVU is the one changing the terms of the deal, not the BE.

that is not at all true - marinotto stated from day one they intended to hold WVU (and Pitt and SU) to the 27 months, no if ands or buts. WVU from the day they announced they were leaving made it clear they were leaving effective June 30, 2012. WVU has always been willing to negotiate a fair settlement and part ways. The BE offices would have dragged this out for as long as possible if WVU had not filed the suits. The suit was brought more with the intention of getting/forcing the BE to the negotiating table and stop the delays.

Marianetto's statement was merely a negotiating point. What was he supposed to say? "We think WVU should be able to just walk away." Let's be realistic here, he was saying what he HAD to say all the while knowing they were headed to a negotiation. WVU administration does not know what could have been accomplished because the administration chose to immediately go to the courts rather than try to negotiate first. It is blatently obvious that WVU was simply trying to gain leverage to reduce the damages they would have to pay. And it has backfired.

your reply is pretty much nothing but opinion and conjecture on your part. there are no facts there - you dont really know whether or not the BE offices were only saying what they had to - nor do you know what wvu's intentions were - you are simply jumping to your own conclusion there without any proof, but stating it as if it is factual.

i look at the exact same set of circumstances that you do and reach a completely different conclusion than you, which is my opinion. you cannot prove what you are asserting. i saw the lawsuits simply as a way to expedite the process and get to the bargaining table sooner. from what i saw, the BE was knuckle dragging and would have continued to do so had they not been forced to respond.

and we wont know what backfired or didnt until this all gets concluded. if it turns out to be arounf 20MM all said and done, that is what most were saying it would cost from the beginning - wvu knows they are breaching a contract and there will need to be compensation for that.

That WVU went straight to the courts after the invite with litigation to try to break the contract is not conjecture or opinion - it is a fact. You can try to do the WVU dance around that in this argument but it's a fact that WVU went straight to the courts to resolve this. They made no good faith attempt to negotiate.

[Who'sYourData?]

That WVU went straight to the courts after the invite with litigation to try to break the contract is not conjecture or opinion - it is a fact. You can try to do the WVU dance around that in this argument but it's a fact that WVU went straight to the courts to resolve this. They made no good faith attempt to negotiate.

See, that's what I was trying to say.

[Bull-by-Marriage]

For those wvu "arm chair/keyboard lawyers" out there.

http://aol.sportingnews.com/ncaa-football/story/2012-02-09/trial-still-possible-in-big-east-vs-west-virginia-lawsuit-court-spokesperson-say

http://espn.go.com/blog/bigeast/post/_/id/30068/wvu-big-east-legal-questions-answered

Pay special attention to:

How solid is West Virginia's case against the Big East?

Dennie: At this point, it appears that the Big East will survive and has obtained new members to remain viable. WVU, however, argues that the conference breached fiduciary duties by not staying active during the carousel of conference realignment. In theory it is an interesting argument, but one that is difficult to make in light of the fast and loose times of the last 24 months.

Munson: The WVU argument that the Big East has failed in some "fiduciary" duty is a weak argument. I am not sure the duty even exists. It's a business organization. Its duty is to perform the collective will of its members. It's duty is to all members, not to one member. Even if it is a duty, it is not a fiduciary duty. To qualify as a fiduciary duty, it must be clearly established in law like a duty of a trustee to the beneficiaries of the trust. The WVU use of the term fiduciary duty is a desperate attempt to invent an argument where no argument exists.

[GaUSFBull]

I read that blog post on ESPN yesterday, and other than saying WVU's argument is weak, they basically lawyer-spoke the whole thing and hardly said anything of note. Bottom line is no one has any idea how it's all going to play out, but I'd say based on the facts and the arguments presented, the road is a bit more uphill for WVU than it is the Big East.

[Bull-by-Marriage]

I read that blog post on ESPN yesterday, and other than saying WVU's argument is weak, they basically lawyer-spoke the whole thing and hardly said anything of note. Bottom line is no one has any idea how it's all going to play out, but I'd say based on the facts and the arguments presented, the road is a bit more uphill for WVU than it is the Big East.

I agree, I find it humorous that the 'ers on this board think that they know how things will turn out. The people that are actually at the negotiating table don't know how it's going to turn out.

[SoFlaEer]

I am saying If the BE would have done this agreement a month ago it would have been Boise St, now the replacement for WVU in 2012 will be Memphis, since they will be the option that appears to be able to move first out of ConfUSA, if Pitt and Cuse want out you are right pay and get someone in.

And IF WVU had tried to find a solution instead of filing suit, this could have been resolved months ago. Don't tell me this only got done because WVU filed suit. If WVU had gone groveling to the BE and said we need out next year, we are willing to pay and we are willing to work on scheduling solutions, this could have all gotten done. WVU filed suit because WVU did not want to pay the $20mil plus other damages. They are now stuck and realize this is the best deal they are going to get. So now WVU is ready to deal. To put this on the BE is ridiculous. WVU is the one changing the terms of the deal, not the BE.

that is not at all true - marinotto stated from day one they intended to hold WVU (and Pitt and SU) to the 27 months, no if ands or buts. WVU from the day they announced they were leaving made it clear they were leaving effective June 30, 2012. WVU has always been willing to negotiate a fair settlement and part ways. The BE offices would have dragged this out for as long as possible if WVU had not filed the suits. The suit was brought more with the intention of getting/forcing the BE to the negotiating table and stop the delays.

so 5 mill and 27 months wasn't fair? why did WVU originally agree to it, if it wasn't fair?

i am not here to argue the merits of whether it is right or not. i stated previously that i dont like wvu breaking the contract, but as you can see, i dont have much sway with the decisions made up there.

i think wvu's point is that the BE they signed up for and agreed to these terms under no longer exists since Pitt and SU announced they were leaving.

and contracts get broken all the time - i.e., coaches move about etc., there is no discussion in any of these other contract disputes about having to wait out the contract timeframe, the contract is ended and an equitable monetary settlement is reached. wvu knows they are breaking the contract, so lets come up with a settlement and move on.

[GaUSFBull]

i think wvu's point is that the BE they signed up for and agreed to these terms under no longer exists since Pitt and SU announced they were leaving.

The BE they signed up for and agreed to these terms under will no longer exist in 2014, but it does exist in 2012. Hate to break it to you. Pitt and SU have said they will stay the 27 months, although they're doing it the smart way and waiting to see what litigation-happy WVU ends up doing, then they can do the same thing without having to pay all the legal fees, and they don't look like a bunch of petulant children in the process.

What kind of a hit is the West Virginia taxpayer taking on all this? How much of the legal fees are basically coming out of the taxpayers' wallets?