MD REALLY suing the ACC

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-01-18/maryland-sues-college-football-league-on-penalty-for-leaving-1-.html

RE: MD REALLY suing the ACC

Maryland is going to leave the ACC without paying a dime.

Exit fees are criminal and hold colleges hostages.

Besides the Big East and ACC, what other conference has a exit fee? None of them do.

RE: MD REALLY suing the ACC

Maryland is going to leave the ACC without paying a dime.

Exit fees are criminal and hold colleges hostages.

Besides the Big East and ACC, what other conference has a exit fee? None of them do.
- Posted by No Party Affiliate

Actually, I think many of the FBS conferences do. The B1G and the SEC do not, which is just evidence of their preeminent position in college football. Nobody in their right mind is going to leave the conferences that pay their members the most. I don't know of any other conferences, all of whom have legitimate concerns that their members might accept a better offer to move up in class, that don't have some kind of exit fee.

For some, like the Sunbelt, that may just take the form of withholding the revenue distribution a departing school had earned but had not yet collected. Those conferences might deliberately hold back on distributing those funds in case a member does leave. But for the most part, a school will generally get more than enough by leaving to cover the exit fees.

I do think Maryland has a good case, given that they never agreed to the change and left so soon after it was unilaterally imposed. And the danger to the ACC is that a court could rule that the fee is excessive per se, and not enforceable against any of its members. That risk could be avoided by an out of court settlement, which is what I still believe will happen (and soon).

RE: MD REALLY suing the ACC

If Carolina can create a championship out of thin air, why should Maryland follow the rules???

UNC = LIARS

RE: MD REALLY suing the ACC

If Carolina can create a championship out of thin air, why should Maryland follow the rules???

UNC = LIARS
- Posted by The Facts Are Here

Could someone please get her ^^ a tissue?

RE: MD REALLY suing the ACC

A major part of the justification for exit fees is that conferences sell the broadcast rights to their members' games, and the loss of "inventory" when a member leaves could reduce the revenue the league will get from its network contracts. In fact, part of conference membership usually entails a school ceding the right to televise its games to the conference.

Fair enough. The other members should be allowed to be made whole if a member breaks the covenant they made to their fellow members. But the ACC would be hard pressed to demonstrate that Maryland's departure caused $52 million damage to the other schools. Heck, they'd be hard pressed to show they were damaged at all. They could make a better case if FSU (the other school that didn't approve the higher fee) were the school that wanted to leave now.

Any way you slice it, the ACC's exit fees are punitive, and like the Berlin Wall they are meant to keep their own members from "escaping". The magnitude of any conference's exit fee is a measure of the fear they have that they aren't attractive enough to keep their schools from being poached. The ACC is very much afraid, and it shows.

RE: MD REALLY suing the ACC

If Carolina can create a championship out of thin air, why should Maryland follow the rules???

UNC = LIARS
- Posted by The Facts Are Here

Could someone please get her ^^ a tissue?
- Posted by Lux Libertas

Yet, you can't prove what I say is not true. You're going to need that tissue yourself to clean up UNC's mess!

UNC = LIARS

RE: MD REALLY suing the ACC

A major part of the justification for exit fees is that conferences sell the broadcast rights to their members' games, and the loss of "inventory" when a member leaves could reduce the revenue the league will get from its network contracts. In fact, part of conference membership usually entails a school ceding the right to televise its games to the conference.

Fair enough. The other members should be allowed to be made whole if a member breaks the covenant they made to their fellow members. But the ACC would be hard pressed to demonstrate that Maryland's departure caused $52 million damage to the other schools. Heck, they'd be hard pressed to show they were damaged at all. They could make a better case if FSU (the other school that didn't approve the higher fee) were the school that wanted to leave now.

Any way you slice it, the ACC's exit fees are punitive, and like the Berlin Wall they are meant to keep their own members from "escaping". The magnitude of any conference's exit fee is a measure of the fear they have that they aren't attractive enough to keep their schools from being poached. The ACC is very much afraid, and it shows.
- Posted by Ken D.

Aaahh... that clarifies the respective positions a bit.

Thanks for the substantive post.

RE: MD REALLY suing the ACC

A major part of the justification for exit fees is that conferences sell the broadcast rights to their members' games, and the loss of "inventory" when a member leaves could reduce the revenue the league will get from its network contracts. In fact, part of conference membership usually entails a school ceding the right to televise its games to the conference.

Fair enough. The other members should be allowed to be made whole if a member breaks the covenant they made to their fellow members. But the ACC would be hard pressed to demonstrate that Maryland's departure caused $52 million damage to the other schools. Heck, they'd be hard pressed to show they were damaged at all. They could make a better case if FSU (the other school that didn't approve the higher fee) were the school that wanted to leave now.

Any way you slice it, the ACC's exit fees are punitive, and like the Berlin Wall they are meant to keep their own members from "escaping". The magnitude of any conference's exit fee is a measure of the fear they have that they aren't attractive enough to keep their schools from being poached. The ACC is very much afraid, and it shows.
- Posted by Ken D.

Good information, thanks, Ken. I'm afraid that what happens with Maryland leaving may become the blueprint for other school who may wish to bolt from the ACC. I'm a traditionalist, and I hate to see a founding school like Maryland leave the conference.

RE: MD REALLY suing the ACC

Maryland is going to leave the ACC without paying a dime.

Exit fees are criminal and hold colleges hostages.

Besides the Big East and ACC, what other conference has a exit fee? None of them do.
- Posted by No Party Affiliate

Actually, I think many of the FBS conferences do. The B1G and the SEC do not, which is just evidence of their preeminent position in college football. Nobody in their right mind is going to leave the conferences that pay their members the most. I don't know of any other conferences, all of whom have legitimate concerns that their members might accept a better offer to move up in class, that don't have some kind of exit fee.

For some, like the Sunbelt, that may just take the form of withholding the revenue distribution a departing school had earned but had not yet collected. Those conferences might deliberately hold back on distributing those funds in case a member does leave. But for the most part, a school will generally get more than enough by leaving to cover the exit fees.

I do think Maryland has a good case, given that they never agreed to the change and left so soon after it was unilaterally imposed. And the danger to the ACC is that a court could rule that the fee is excessive per se, and not enforceable against any of its members. That risk could be avoided by an out of court settlement, which is what I still believe will happen (and soon).
- Posted by Ken D.

Solid stuff Ken. Your 3rd paragraph stated for understanding to me.

RE: MD REALLY suing the ACC

If Carolina can create a championship out of thin air, why should Maryland follow the rules???

UNC = LIARS
- Posted by The Facts Are Here

Here is an idea: Go outside and get some fresh air.

WRAL Sports Fan