Big East Possible Agreement With WVU

[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.

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.

yes that is a fact, but your interpretation of why they did it, is not fact. it's opinion. you have no proof WVU didnt attempt a good faith negotiation - how do you know what was or was not being communicated the whole time the process was unfolding - you dont know if WVU was up front all along or not - none of us do. how do you know WVU wasnt telling marinatto for a month that they would leave immediately if the opportunity arose and he said they would fight it or not? none of us knows. it's all conjecture. what we can go on is what they said stated, and marinatto had no intention of negotiating an ealry exit. that is fact.

time was of the essence here - both to mitigate the harm to the BE by losing a team within 10 months, give the schools an opportunity to start looking for replacement games, etc. any "good faith" negotiation would have merely given the BE the opportunity to drag its feet and make the matter even worse, whichthey seem to have managed to do anyway. dont you think USF et al would have been in a better position to start looking to find an opponent 4 months ago unstead of now?

[jvwvu]

The potential income for the state as a whole, local economy, WVU ticket sales, hotels, merchandise, donations, outweigh the cost of litigation on WVUs state tax payers. Even Marshall fans will admit this, WVU in Big 12 is good for the state.

Plus we had a $150 million dollar state surplus last year, so we got some change. But note WVU athletics operate on their own budget that has to be balanced by income (no state tax dollars), so theoritocially the WVU AD department is paying this at no cost to tax players.

[jvwvu]

WVU sued first, yes, WVU could have tried to negotiate first though, but what if that did not progress. The suit was for two things in WV to limit possible damages and to push the timeline.

Could The delay in a final settlement "written" be part of BE and WVU's agreement, so that Pitt and Cuse don't try to take flight in 2012, because we all know in 2013 they are more than likily to pay damages and leave early also.

[GaUSFBull]

I never made an interpretation of why they went to the courts, only stated what they did. What's the point of going to the courts other than to sue to break a contract?

WVU accepted their invitation on Oct. 28, which was a Friday. Monday, 10/31, WVU announced they had filed a lawsuit in Monongalia County, WV. http://www.boston.com/sports/colleges/football/articles/2011/10/31/wvu_files__lawsuit_against_big_east/ You think a true, good faith negotiation was attempted over that weekend in between? Negotiations take some time - usually more than a weekend.

And don't give me that "time was of the essence" BS you wrote either. It wasn't about mitigating damage to the BE, it was basically WVU saying "get us the hell out of this godforsaken conference." USF shouldn't have to look for an opponent for 2012 because WVU needs to honor the contract that it helped to write.

All I'm saying is that WVU has handled this whole thing in the worst possible way a university could handle it.

[SoFlaEer]

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?

i hate to break to you to, i was just trying to answer your question as to what wvu's position was, not whether it was a weak argument or not. it's not my position, it's the school administration's.

and if they choose to leave sooner than 27 months, pitt and SU will have to negotiate an early exit too if that is their intent, so they will need to have lawyers involved and incur legal fees. to think it's as simple as just doing what wvu did without it involving legal fees and negotiations is, well, kinda simplistic thinking.

litigation-happy? one lawsuit makes you litigation happy? okay.

btw - taxpayer money doesnt pay for these lawsuits.

[smazza]

wv needs to pay top dollar

[SoFlaEer]

I never made an interpretation of why they went to the courts, only stated what they did. What's the point of going to the courts other than to sue to break a contract? WVU accepted their invitation on Oct. 28, which was a Friday. Monday, 10/31, WVU announced they had filed a lawsuit in Monongalia County, WV. http://www.boston.com/sports/colleges/football/articles/2011/10/31/wvu_files__lawsuit_against_big_east/ You think a true, good faith negotiation was attempted over that weekend in between? Negotiations take some time - usually more than a weekend. And don't give me that "time was of the essence" BS you wrote either. It wasn't about mitigating damage to the BE, it was basically WVU saying "get us the hell out of this godforsaken conference." USF shouldn't have to look for an opponent for 2012 because WVU needs to honor the contract that it helped to write. All I'm saying is that WVU has handled this whole thing in the worst possible way a university could handle it.

so time wasnt of the essence and it's just crap? you are honestly saying USF would not be in a better position to start to look to fill an open slot on the schedule 4 months ago as opposed to now?

and why arent you raising hell at TCU - they were supposed to be on your schedule this year too. The BE let them walk away scott free, leaving a hole on all of the remaining school's schedules.

[SoFlaEer]

wv needs to pay top dollar

they'll pay a fair settlement, whatever that is determined to be.

[GaUSFBull]

Pretty sure TCU paid a sum of $5M to leave - they had never fully crossed the threshold into the conference anyway. WVU helped to write the charter right? They seem to have a greater responsibility, not to mention they (hate to admit it, but it's true) have carried the conference banner more than any other team. Losing WVU hurts more than losing Pitt, Cuse or TCU (whom we never really seemed to have anyway).

[SoFlaEer]

Pretty sure TCU paid a sum of $5M to leave - they had never fully crossed the threshold into the conference anyway. WVU helped to write the charter right? They seem to have a greater responsibility, not to mention they (hate to admit it, but it's true) have carried the conference banner more than any other team. Losing WVU hurts more than losing Pitt, Cuse or TCU (whom we never really seemed to have anyway).

so in other words, TCU paid a fee to mitigate the damage caused by not playing in the BE next year on such short notice. well, that's all WVU is trying to do. none of us know the specifics of what TCU's deal/stature was or why they were allowed out with a standard exit fee- but if they werent a member yet, the exit fee did not apply so they didnt need to pay it. cant have it both ways. either they were a member who left early and was allowed to pay the standard exit fee (without having to give 27 mos notice), or they werent and should not have been subjected to the exit fee.

You keep citing that wvu helped write this or signed this etc,. as if they have the audacity to deny it or something. no one is arguing that, and wvu acknowledges they are breaking a contract. so you really dont need to keep hammering that home in every post.

contracts get broken all the time. when that happens, a financial settlement is what occurs. that's just the way contract law works.

and it doesnt matter if wvu is "worth more" - they arent responsible for subsidizing the other school's football programs, (just as this argument was laughed out of court when the first ACC raid occurred and the BE was losing its marqee program, Miami).

maybe the remaining FB schools should focus on putting a better product on the field that people want to see? it isnt WVU's problem if they arent doing that, and i can cpounter-argue that being associated with these other schools is damaging WVU's earning potential.