BIG EAST Conference schools file suit to stop Miami, BC

The claim is that the two schools concocted a "deliberate scheme."
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Five schools filed a lawsuit Friday to try to prevent Miami and Boston College from jumping to the Atlantic Coast Conference, accusing them of secretly taking part in an expansion plan that could ruin the Big East.
The lawsuit, filed in state Superior Court in Hartford, Conn., says Miami and Boston College professed loyalty to their conference while concocting a "deliberate scheme to destroy the Big East and abscond with the collective value of all that has been invested and created in the Big East."
Big East schools went ahead with millions of dollars in renovations and upgrades under the assumption they would be part of a healthy conference for years to come, the lawsuit contends.
The lawsuit was filed by Pittsburgh, Connecticut, West Virginia, Virginia Tech and Rutgers against the ACC, Miami and Boston College. Syracuse is part of the potential ACC expansion but was not included in the lawsuit because plaintiffs said they found no evidence the school made promises to stay in the Big East.
The five universities are suing for financial damages and want an injunction to prevent Miami and Boston College from leaving.
"Our universities have brought this lawsuit with great regret and only as a last resort. Unfortunately the actions of Miami and BC -- in concert with the ACC -- simply left us no choice but to act," presidents of the five schools said in a statement.
In review
Last month, the ACC announced plans to try to expand to 12 teams. Football power Miami is the linchpin of the deal, and if the Hurricanes go, Boston College and Syracuse are expected to follow.
ACC representatives have visited all three campuses and a final decision on expansion is expected soon.
The lawsuit accuses Miami and Boston College of making repeated assurances of their loyalty to the conference. It quotes Miami president Donna Shalala on March 6, 2002, reiterating Miami's commitment "in the strongest terms possible, emphatically stating that the University of Miami is in the Big East and has no interest in leaving it for any other conference."
Based on that statement, and others like it, the lawsuit says several Big East schools financed major construction projects.
For instance, Virginia Tech invested about $37 million in the second phase of expansion of its football stadium. UConn completed a $90 million construction project on a stadium as part of plans for its football program to begin play in the Big East in 2005.
The lawsuit contends the Big East could lose millions of dollars in revenue from bowl games, the lucrative Bowl Championship Series and from TV deals. The ACC has promised Miami increased revenue from a more lucrative TV deal it believes it could negotiate as a 12-team conference.