Rutgers may have played in the Pinstripe Bowl for free Saturday afternoon.
At least, that could be the case if the American Athletic Conference has its way, according a report.
The new league is planning to withhold the school’s $1.5 million Pinstripe Bowl payment while the two sides wrangle over the Scarlet Knights’ exit fee, according to the Star-Ledger, citing a source requesting anonymity because of the ongoing legal matters.
“Because there is pending litigation, I can’t comment,” Rutgers athletic director Julie Hermann said on Saturday, according to the Star-Ledger.
Rutgers filed suit against the AAC (which includes football schools from the old Big East Conference) according to the report in the Star-Ledger. The suit is over the exit fee of $10 million the AAC is charging Rutgers for leaving for the Big Ten next fall. The suit will be heard in Rhode Island, where the AAC has its offices, in November.
“[T]he Big East has elected not to enforce the bylaws, including the 27-months provision [waiting period] and payment of withdrawal fees, consistently and uniformly to the detriment of the remaining members of the Big East,” Rutgers stated in its suit, according to the Star-Ledger report.
The AAC refused to comment on the suit, telling the newspaper in a statement: “There is ongoing litigation and it would be inappropriate to comment beyond that at this point.”
If the two parties reach an agreement, withholding the $1.5 million Pinstripe Bowl sum could be avoided. Bowl payments are not made to schools until the spring.
The bowl payment dispute is just one issue between Rutgers and the AAC. The school is also suing the league over a canceled home game against TCU. The Horned Frogs were scheduled to join the Big East, but did not. The Star-Ledger reported Rutgers has estimated it lost $1.3 million over that game.
Rutgers also said the AAC denied its share of $39 million that was collected from several schools’ exit fees.