Pitt filed suit in the Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas late Friday afternoon. A copy of that lawsuit is available and can be viewed here. As an added ‘bonus’, the Big East Bylaws are also attached in that document.
The abridged version, of course, is that Pitt is claiming damages – many related to scheduling issues as a result of West Virginia and TCU being able to leave the conference early without paying the 27-month penalty. While it can be argued that those two schools left because of the defections by Pitt and Syracuse, the lawsuit also raises some valid points.
Pitt bought out an earlier opponent at the cost of $250,000 to make room for TCU. When the Horned Frogs left, that created a void on Pitt’s schedule. In addition, with the loss of West Virginia, the Panthers lost two of their marquee games and were forced to replace them with new member Temple and Gardner-Webb. The attendance for those two games will also be significantly less than they would have been for West Virginia and TCU.
For more on the lawsuit, stay tuned to this SB Nation Pittsburgh Storystream and visit SB Nation's Pitt blog, Cardiac Hill.