Matt Hayes said about West Virginia's suit:
But forget about settlements and cash buyouts. West Virginia is bound by a legal contract it signed with the Big East and the Big East isn't letting go.
What WVU is asking our legal system to do is ignore terms of a contract. That's not going to happen unless the Big East has violated terms of the deal, which it hasn't.This lawsuit, more than anything, is a tactical (see: litigious) way for West Virginia to get the Big East to accept a monetary buyout. And now, it appears, that's not going to happen, either.The reality is, West Virginia can simply leave and play in the Big 12 next season, but monetary legal damages of breaking that contract could make Texas A&M's buyout from the Big 12 (estimated at $13-15 million) look like chump change, especially if Pitt and Syracuse are willing to wait to leave WVU alone in its contract defiance.
We've heard this before haven't we? The Big East hasn't changed its tune about letting any school leave early. West Virginia is determined to leave early. We've also heard about the difficulty of the Big East getting a legal injunction to force the Mountaineers to stay.
We are still waiting on the lawsuits by both parties to wrap up. But, what if the Mountaineers aren't successful with the legal route? Do they have the kind of money they would need to "simply leave and play in the Big 12 next season"?
For more coverage West Virginia's legal battle to leave the Big East early, stay tuned to our Big East Falls Apart section.