The ACC wasn’t happy when Maryland decided to leave the conference for the Big Ten. They previously agreed to a $31 million settlement for the school to leave but then had to enter mediation when the ACC decided it wanted more money. Now a deal has been reached where Maryland will not have to pay anything else:
“Maryland has agreed that the ACC will keep the sum of $31,361,788 previously withheld in order to resolve the lawsuits, and the ACC has agreed that Maryland will have no obligation to make any other payments to the ACC.”
“On behalf of the ACC’s Council of Presidents, I am pleased that all parties can move forward, returning our focus where it belongs – on our student-athletes, intercollegiate athletic programs and institutions of higher learning,” said Donna Shalala, ACC Council of Presidents chairperson and president of Miami, in a statement. “There is great excitement surrounding the ACC and its 15 member institutions and we extend our best wishes to our colleagues at Maryland as we all look ahead to the upcoming academic year.”
The ACC was trying to get a $52.3M exit fee from Maryland so technically Maryland saved around $20M in this settlement.
As usual, I thought there was no money in college sports according to the Presidents who cry that when people want to pay players?