Arkansas State University and the University of Miami have reached an agreement to dismiss their respective lawsuits regarding the cancellation of a football game Sept. 9, 2017, scheduled for Jonesboro.
According to the agreement, Miami is obligated to pay ASU $400,000 in full within 10 days of Nov. 12, the date the settlement was reached after an 11-hour, third-party mediation Monday in Miami.
"I would call it a fair resolution," said Brad Phelps, general counsel for the Arkansas State University System who served as the school's spokesman regarding the agreement. "I think this allows us to move on and go forward."
Miami canceled the game because of travel concerns surrounding Hurricane Irma in South Florida.
The two schools agreed to a home-and-home series on May 9, 2013. The Hurricanes defeated ASU 41-20 in Miami in 2014.
According to the schools' original game contract, if one team did not appear in one of the games, the other would receive a damages payment of $650,000 by Feb. 15, 2018. The contract was terminated in Monday's settlement and will no longer have "force or effect," the agreement stated.
After the cancellation of the 2017 game and before lawsuits were filed, Arkansas State asked Miami to reschedule in either 2020 or 2021 in Jonesboro. The Hurricanes reportedly declined and countered with a potential rescheduled date in 2024 or later.
Miami's legal counsel sent ASU a letter in February, claiming the game's cancellation was caused by "reason of an unforeseen catastrophe or disaster."
Arkansas State's legal counsel replied that Miami indicated during a telephone conversation that it "has no intention of paying" and that ASU "is left with no choice other than to seek damages."
Days after Miami filed its lawsuit, ASU filed a "breach of contract" lawsuit against the Hurricanes, whom neither paid the buyout fee nor rescheduled the game. Judges presiding over both lawsuits in Craighead County Western District Court in Arkansas and Miami-Dade County Circuit Court ordered the schools to mediate, Phelps said.
"We came to the mediation in good faith and gave it a good effort," Phelps said. "I think Miami did the same. And this is where we ended up.
"To me, a cash payment was preferable to rescheduling at a later time. I think we achieved that. I also think there's an advantage to receiving money sooner rather than a couple of years down the road after litigation and cost and things add up."
ASU's lawsuit further stated the canceled game "was not impossible" to play in Jonesboro. As previously reported, ASU Athletic Director Terry Mohajir "offered to pay $86,000-$88,000 for the entire Miami team and staff to fly from Miami to Memphis on an air charter service to ensure that Miami could travel safely to Jonesboro."
When requested for comment, Mohajir declined and ASU referred to Phelps for official comment.
Sports on 11/15/2018