Word broke today that Pitt is suing the Big East in hopes of leaving early. The Panthers’ goal appears to be to leave after the upcoming football and basketball seasons. Pitt’s basis for wanting out early and suing the conference?

Scheduling and lost revenue.

Conference officials’ decision, the complaint states, has cost the University of Pittsburgh lost ticket sales, buyout fees and game fees for two valuable home football games those opponents scheduled, then abandoned, leaving Pitt scrambling to find replacements at additional cost.

No one could argue (at least well, anyway) that Pitt doesn’t at the very least have a point here. The Panthers were indeed left scrambling after West Virginia and TCU bolted and as a result, ended up with a subpar schedule. Because of that, fewer tickets will be sold and the program stands to lose more money. However, the lawsuit signals a potential end to ‘playing nice’ and is sure to draw more ire from the remaining conference teams.

For more on the lawsuit, stay tuned to this Storystream and check out Pitt blog, Cardiac Hill.