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Miami fights back
against Big East
The Hurricanes' jump
to the ACC from the Big East
Conference has brought
out lawsuits against schools
By Susan Miller Degnan
Knight Rtdder Newspapers (KRT)
CORAL GABLES, Fla. — The im
pending divorce just got uglier.
After months of being called con
spirators in "a deliberate scheme... to
destroy the Big East * the University of
Miami struck back Monday in Miami
Dade County Circuit Court.
The LIniversity of Miami filed suit
against the Big East Conference, Uni
versity of Connecticut, Pittsburgh,
Rutgers and West Virginia, alleging
breach of contract and a conspiracy to
defraud on the part of the conference
and individual schools.
Miami also sued the University of
Connecticut for defamation.
"Enough of all these lawyer-con
cocted claims and all the defamation
and name-calling and daily press re
leases and press conferences," Miami
attorney Eric Isicoff told The Herald
by telephone. "What we want to do is
bring the real issue to the court here
and have the court declare, 'Hey, there
was a contract. You have the absolute
right to leave the Big East conference
and you've done nothing wrong.'
"That's the bottom line."
Isicoff, co-counsel Roberto Mar
tinez and Aaron Podhurst filed the
lawsuit on behalf of UM.
Isicoff said Miami is "looking for
substantial damages against the Big
East and the other schools ... and we
would estimate those damages are
going to range into the millions
of dollars."
Miami also filed an appeal Monday
with the Supreme Court of Connecti
cut to immediately review trial judge
Samuel Sferrazza's recent order deny
ing UM's motion to dismiss for lack
of personal jurisdiction.
UM was sued in June by the four
schools, but not by the Big East Con
ference, for, according to the original
lawsuit, conspiring in a scheme to de
stroy the league by choosing to defect
to the Atlantic Coast Conference.
Miami claims in Monday's lawsuit
that in 1999 it expressed to Big East
commissioner Mike Tranghese that it
had 16 concerns with the Big East —
Epr—--—
including scheduling, marketing, TV
rights and the ability of members to
leave the conference. It claims those
concerns were not addressed and that
it signed an amended Big East Consti
tution in 2001 under false pretenses
that the issues would be resolved.
Either way, Isicoff said UM legally
abided by the amended constitution
by giving its notice to leave the Big
East by this past June 30 and by pay
ing its $ 1 million exit fee.
"There was no commitment to stay
in the conference for any period of
time," Isicoff said. "It was a revised
and amended out-clause that was very
clear and unequivocal: You give your
notice by June 30 and you pay your
money within a year — $ 1 million —
and you're free to go.
"In the past 25 years, 39 other
schools have changed conferences,
and there has never been a lawsuit. It's
nothing extraordinary."
UM athletic director Paul Dee said
Monday in a written statement, "We
took this action very reluctantly, be
cause we think litigation in this mat- *
ter is neither productive nor desirable.
"However, the barrage of lawsuits ■
emanating out of Big East member *
schools, have forced us to take steps to
protect our rights and reputation."
Most recently, the four Big East
schools filed a second lawsuit last
Tuesday over the ACC expansion,
adding Boston College, its athletic di
rector and four ACC officers to the list
of defendants.
The Big East acknowledged Mon
day's lawsuit, but spokesman Rob
Carolla said there would be no public
comment.
Connecticut Attorney General
Richard Blumenthal, the most vocal
ly aggressive plaintiff on behalf of his
side's lawsuits, told The Associated
Press that UM's lawsuits are unfound
ed and show Miami is acting out of
"fear and anger."
"Any harm claimed by the Univer
sity of Miami plainly is self-inflicted
or nonexistent, and pales in compari
son to the damage it has done to its
Big East partners," Blumenthal said.
The defendants have 20 days to re- *
spond to the complaint.
(c) 2003, The Miami Herald.
Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune
Information Services.
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