There has never been much drama surrounding the annual Conference USA football schedule release. Until today, that is.
Last week, Marshall, Southern Miss and Old Dominion announced their intentions to leave this summer for the Sun Belt. All three schools said they would not be participating in Conference USA during the 2022-23 school year.
However, when Conference USA unveiled its 2022 football schedule today, it included Marshall, Southern Miss and Old Dominion. Apparently, the league is not letting the trio exit without a fight.
“Conference USA intends to conduct the 2022-23 athletic year with the full 14 institution membership intact,” the conference said in a statement. “The C-USA Board of Directors will exhaust all necessary legal actions to ensure all members meet their contractual obligations as defined by and agreed to in the Conference USA Bylaws.”
Meanwhile, Marshall has already put out a response, saying it is standing its ground regarding leaving in June.
Marshall Athletics is aware that Conference USA released its 2022 football schedule this afternoon, however, we stand by our statement from Friday. https://t.co/Ivh4qWQoPd
— Jeff O’Malley (@jeffgoherd) February 15, 2022
According to Conference USA by-laws, any institutions intending to leave must provide 14 months notice. However, there is reportedly no financial penalty for not adhering to that rule.
Where does this leave everything? Probably with a few months of legal squabbling ahead to sort out the divorce between the league and the three departing members.
Whenever Marshall, Southern Miss and Old Dominion do leave for the Sun Belt, they are slated to be replaced by Liberty, New Mexico State, Jacksonville State and Sam Houston State.
The post There’s Some Major College Football Schedule Drama For 2022 appeared first on The Spun.