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Heisman
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RE: Brett McMurphy: there is no financial penalty in by-laws (CUSA)
(02-11-2022 08:20 PM)GEAUX UL Wrote: (02-11-2022 07:27 PM)Soaring Eagle Wrote: This from latechs bb
From the conference bylaws in the latest C-USA Handbook that I have (2015-2016):
3.06 Withdrawal From Conference.
No member of the Conference may withdraw from the Conference except pursuant to and as allowed by this Section 3.06. No member may withdraw from the Conference without providing the Conference prior written notice. Any and all withdrawals from the Conference shall be effective on July 1 of the year specified in the notice of withdrawal; provided, however, that the withdrawing member must afford the Conference notice at least fourteen months prior to the effective date of the withdrawal (i.e. no later than May 1 of the prior year). However, if a Member makes statements or takes actions that evidence intent of such Member to withdraw from the Conference either currently or in the future, such actions will be determined as notice of withdrawal by a three-fourths (3/4) vote of the remaining Members of the Board of Directors. In the event that a member attempts to leave the Conference without fully complying with the notice of withdrawal requirements set forth above, the Conference shall be entitled to equitable relief without having to prove actual injury, irreparable or otherwise, including, but not limited to, an injunction requiring the member to comply fully with the notice of withdrawal requirements set forth above, to fulfill all of its obligations as a Conference member, and to remain in the Conference until the earliest permissible date upon which the member could have, under the circumstances, withdrawn with full and proper prior notice as required above. The members agree that any attempted withdrawal of a member without full compliance with the prior notice requirements set forth above would cause a disruption in the scheduling of competitions among the members for which there is no adequate remedy at law which would cause harm that would not in any respect be compensated by payment of a withdrawal fee, and for which, therefore, equitable relief is appropriate.
The withdrawing member shall be responsible for the amount of any and all assessments or debts that the member owes to the Conference as of the effective date of the withdrawal. From the date of notice of withdrawal, the withdrawing member shall have no rights to receive distribution of Conference revenues of any nature (i.e. the Conference shall be entitled to retain distribution for two fiscal years) and shall continue to be obligated to pay Conference expenses, assessments, or debts. Further, the term of office of any Board Member representing a Withdrawing Member shall automatically expire and such Chief Executive Officer shall no longer be a Board Member of the Conference effective as of the notice date or determination of notice to withdraw and such Withdrawing Member shall not be entitled to have a representative on the Board of Directors thereafter. During the period thereafter the number of Board Members shall automatically be reduced by the number of Withdrawing Members; and the Withdrawing Member(s) shall not be permitted to attend any meeting of, vote on any matter before, receive notice of any meeting of, or receive copies of materials distributed to the Board of Directors; the Conference shall however, inform the Chief Executive Officer of a Withdrawing Member about matters (as determined by the Commissioner in his sole discretion) that may materially impact the Withdrawing Member during the period prior to the effective date of the withdrawal in a manner disproportionate to the Withdrawing Member and shall provide the Chief Executive Officer of the Withdrawing Member with a reasonable opportunity for discussion with the Board of Directors on such issues as requested Each of the Members agrees that withdrawal of a member from the Conference would cause damage and financial hardship to the Conference and its continuing members, that the financial consequences to the Conference and its continuing members of such withdrawal cannot be measured or estimated with certainty at this time, and that the withholding of distributions pursuant to the preceding paragraph is a reasonable method of compensating the Conference and the continuing members for such damage and financial hardship and is not and shall not be construed as a penalty.
3.07 Suspension and Expulsion.
A member shall be subject to suspension or expulsion for cause by the Board of Directors (provided, however, that the Director representing the withdrawing member may not participate or vote in connection with any such decision) pursuant to Section 5.02©(iii) if the member:
(a) Fails to meet its financial obligations to the Conference;
(b) Violates any of the provisions of these Bylaws or the rules and regulations of the Conference (collectively referred to as "Conference Legislation") or the NCAA; or,
© Engages in a course of conduct significantly contrary to the best interests or reputation of the Conference and the remaining members of the Conference as determined by the Board of Directors.
A member suspended or expelled for cause shall not be entitled to receive a return of any initiation fee or subsequent contributions paid by it to the Conference, nor shall it (a) be relieved of any financial obligations to the Conference arising prior to such suspension or expulsion, including, without limitation, assessments made pursuant to Section 3.04; or, (b) be entitled to distributions, if any, of Conference income, whether pursuant to Section 5.02(b)(xii) or otherwise, for the fiscal year in which suspension or withdrawal occurs or for any subsequent fiscal years. The suspension or expulsion of a member for cause shall not be deemed a waiver by the Conference or other Conference members of any claims it or they may have against the member for losses or damages incurred as a result of the conduct giving rise to such suspension or expulsion.
I'm not a lawyer, but it seems like the bolded sentence is C-USA's trump card in all this. That sentence claims that C-USA has a right to get an injunction that forces the SBC 3 to stay one more year. So while they can't force the schools to pay exit fees, perhaps they are trying to hold them hostage to get exit fees.
Am I interpreting this right? Is this even enforceable? Hopefully a real lawyer will chime in and give us some clarification.
Not a lawyer either, but I would bet that's the angle C-USA is pulling right now, would line up with all the "contractual obligation" press releases they've been putting out. But it also seems obvious, which makes me think that the SBC3 lawyers would have thought of it too, and they don't see it as an insurmountable issue. Will be interesting to follow over the next few weeks
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Brett McMurphy: there is no financial penalty in by-laws (CUSA)
