The ACC and the University of Maryland announced Friday that the two sides have reached a “mediated agreement that ends all litigation between both parties.”
In the agreement, the ACC will keep a previously withheld sum of $31,461,788 from Maryland to resolve all lawsuits. On that condition, the league agreed that Maryland, who officially joined the Big Ten July 1, will have “no obligation to make any other payments” moving forward.
The ACC, Maryland’s former conference, filed a lawsuit that requested an exit fee of $52.3 million from the school. Maryland had requested to dismiss the lawsuit, but the request was denied by an appeals court in North Carolina last year. The two sides then entered negotiations and had a mediator assigned in April.
As a result of this agreement, the lawsuits in North Carolina and another in Maryland are now dismissed.
“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,” Donna Shalala, Chair of the ACC Council of Presidents, said in a release.
Maryland spent 61 years in the ACC before announcing it had agreed to join the Big Ten in November 2012.
“The University of Maryland is proud of our long and storied 61-year association with the Atlantic Coast Conference,” said Wallace D. Loh, president of the University of Maryland. “Today’s agreement helps usher in exciting new eras for both the University and the ACC. We wish the conference and our ACC university colleagues well.”
Both the school and the league said in the release that both sides will not have any further comment regarding the issue.
For more Maryland news, visit TerrapinSportsReport.com.
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Sam Cooper is a contributor for the Yahoo Sports blogs. Have a tip? Email him or follow him on Twitter!
From Dr. Saturday - NCAAF - Yahoo Sports - Maryland, ACC reach settlement in exit fee dispute
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