Good afternoon, Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) fans. Only 20 days until your first Saturday of college football – you got to be happy about that 😉
If you are like me and missed the late Friday news from the conference offices is North Carolina, the ACC and Maryland have come to an agreement on an exit fee (H/T @RaphielleJ).
To prevent institutions from leaving the ACC on a whim, the members of the conference voted to increase the exit fee to $52 million (Maryland was one of the schools that opposed the deal – it likely had an idea that it was leaving for the Big 10 as the institution’s balance sheet was horrid).
Both sides were unwilling to give up any leverage on their legal positions until this past Friday.
Basically, Maryland will not have to give the ACC a dime – as the conference has already withheld a sum of $31 million (e.g. its share of the conference bowl money, network money, and other funding). The lawsuits in the North Carolina and Maryland courts were also dismissed. This is the largest exit fee separation agreement ever in the modern era of conference realignment.
This was probably the best possible settlement for the ACC and Maryland – a long-protracted legal battle would not be good for either party – and an amicable settlement has been reached.
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