On the JMU board in some thread I read it was said that there is no exit fee in the Sun Belt if 12 months notice is given.

Is that correct?

If that is correct that needs to be addressed. If it is correct the Sun Belt must be the only conference with no exit fee.

Here is what I would like to see done:
1. No exit fee if 24 months notice is given.
2. If less than 24 months notice given institute a reasonable exit fee-- say 2 million.

Has this ever been discussed at Sun Belt meetings before?

(02-04-2014 10:50 AM)GaSoEagle Wrote:  On the JMU board in some thread I read it was said that there is no exit fee in the Sun Belt if 12 months notice is given.

Is that correct?

If that is correct that needs to be addressed. If it is correct the Sun Belt must be the only conference with no exit fee.

Here is what I would like to see done:
1. No exit fee if 24 months notice is given.
2. If less than 24 months notice given institute a reasonable exit fee-- say 2 million.

Has this ever been discussed at Sun Belt meetings before?

I'm sure it was discussed but in the past, why would a bunch of schools that wanted to leave be willing to do that to themselves. That may be a different issue today though.

(02-04-2014 10:50 AM)GaSoEagle Wrote:  On the JMU board in some thread I read it was said that there is no exit fee in the Sun Belt if 12 months notice is given.
Is that correct?
If that is correct that needs to be addressed. If it is correct the Sun Belt must be the only conference with no exit fee.
Here is what I would like to see done:
1. No exit fee if 24 months notice is given.
2. If less than 24 months notice given institute a reasonable exit fee-- say 2 million.
Has this ever been discussed at Sun Belt meetings before?

If you look at the schools who have come and gone over the years, I'm sure there has never been a majority who would have considered locking themselves into a specific conference. FIU, for example was in a D-II conference (can't recall the name) in the 80's before we moved to the TACC (90's) and then to the Sun Belt and C-USA. I'm sure every program here has a similar story.

Point is, a conference is created for the convenience of its members not as a prison.

(02-04-2014 10:50 AM)GaSoEagle Wrote:  On the JMU board in some thread I read it was said that there is no exit fee in the Sun Belt if 12 months notice is given.

Is that correct?

If that is correct that needs to be addressed. If it is correct the Sun Belt must be the only conference with no exit fee.

Here is what I would like to see done:
1. No exit fee if 24 months notice is given.
2. If less than 24 months notice given institute a reasonable exit fee-- say 2 million.

Has this ever been discussed at Sun Belt meetings before?

What was the SoCon's fee and how much notice did you give?

(02-04-2014 10:50 AM)GaSoEagle Wrote:  On the JMU board in some thread I read it was said that there is no exit fee in the Sun Belt if 12 months notice is given.

Is that correct?

If that is correct that needs to be addressed. If it is correct the Sun Belt must be the only conference with no exit fee.

Here is what I would like to see done:
1. No exit fee if 24 months notice is given.
2. If less than 24 months notice given institute a reasonable exit fee-- say 2 million.

Has this ever been discussed at Sun Belt meetings before?

A 1 million dollar exit fee was discussed at one point, but WKU left a few days later. I do know that we have made it where you must give 12 months notice now before leaving...no pulling an MTSU and FAU.

I believe an exit fee is coming, but most likely not until a 12th member gets added.

Why do you the Big 12 and ACC lock themselves in. This is not a suicide pact. Have a large buyout for CUSA, MAC, and independent. If you get an invite other than those fine.

There should be an exit fee for newbies to avoid "stopovers." This should be in the initial agreement. It should not apply to schools who have been n the conference say 5 years or more.

There isn't exactly a lot of leverage here.

(02-04-2014 12:01 PM)CW Fishman Wrote:  There should be an exit fee for newbies to avoid "stopovers." This should be in the initial agreement. It should not apply to schools who have been n the conference say 5 years or more.

The ones here 5 years or more are creating instability too.

Make a large buyout for lateral moves. If its not lateral let them go.

(02-04-2014 12:01 PM)CW Fishman Wrote:  There should be an exit fee for newbies to avoid "stopovers." This should be in the initial agreement. It should not apply to schools who have been n the conference say 5 years or more.

The most likely to leave will vote no and the least likely would like something. The one's new to the conference don't want to alienate anyone and the football only's and non-football schools don't really have a say.

There really is no way to build a consensus this early in the new relationships, so the whole issue is probably a non-starter. Besides, nobodies going anywhere for awhile anyways.

(02-04-2014 10:50 AM)GaSoEagle Wrote:  On the JMU board in some thread I read it was said that there is no exit fee in the Sun Belt if 12 months notice is given.

Is that correct?

If that is correct that needs to be addressed. If it is correct the Sun Belt must be the only conference with no exit fee.

The SEC doesn't have an exit fee. I don't think the PAC or Big 10 do either. When nobody want's out, you don't need one.

We have the opposite problem - everybody (that has a reasonable shot at getting out) wants out, so they don't want an exit fee.

The CAA threatened to institute an exit fee, which prompted Georgia State to announce it's departure. The vote on that exit fee was never taken because the entire point of it was to force GSU's hand.

(02-04-2014 12:09 PM)FIUFan Wrote:  

(02-04-2014 12:01 PM)CW Fishman Wrote:  There should be an exit fee for newbies to avoid "stopovers." This should be in the initial agreement. It should not apply to schools who have been n the conference say 5 years or more.

The most likely to leave will vote no and the least likely would like something. The one's new to the conference don't want to alienate anyone and the football only's and non-football schools don't really have a say.

There really is no way to build a consensus this early in the new relationships, so the whole issue is probably a non-starter. Besides, nobodies going anywhere for awhile anyways.

Schools who are here for Football only and Oly sports only should not have to pay the same amount of exit fees as a school who has all their sports in the conference.

I could see something like an exit fee to move to any other G5 conference but no exit fee just 12 months notice to go to a P5 conference. No one could be blamed for moving to a P5 conference and it is very unlikely a Sun Belt team could move to a P5 conference.

The exit fee would benefit the conference also. If someone leaves and had to pay a 2 mil exit fee that is a sizeable sum the conference could use.

To answer an earlier question I believe the SoCon rule was 24 months notice -- no exit fee. 12 months notice -- $300,000 exit fee Less than 12 month notice -- $600,000 exit fee.

I believe we gave a 12 month notice and therefore paid the $300,000 fee to the SoCon.

(02-04-2014 12:17 PM)Panthersville Wrote:  The SEC doesn't have an exit fee.

There aren't many schools that would be stupid enough to leave the SEC once admitted.

And then there's Tulane.

(02-04-2014 12:17 PM)Panthersville Wrote:  We have the opposite problem - everybody (that has a reasonable shot at getting out) wants out, so they don't want an exit fee.

Yeah, but unfortunately...odds are...that not everybody that thinks they have a reasonable shot at getting out are going to be the ones getting out...and then they will find that they are in a far worse world of hurt than if they had committed to the conference. Far worse.

They all need to consider the worse case scenario for themselves...then gulp...and take action to stop being raided...at keast by CUSA.

(02-04-2014 12:17 PM)Panthersville Wrote:  

(02-04-2014 10:50 AM)GaSoEagle Wrote:  On the JMU board in some thread I read it was said that there is no exit fee in the Sun Belt if 12 months notice is given.

Is that correct?

If that is correct that needs to be addressed. If it is correct the Sun Belt must be the only conference with no exit fee.

The SEC doesn't have an exit fee. I don't think the PAC or Big 10 do either. When nobody want's out, you don't need one.

We have the opposite problem - everybody (that has a reasonable shot at getting out) wants out, so they don't want an exit fee.

The CAA threatened to institute an exit fee, which prompted Georgia State to announce it's departure. The vote on that exit fee was never taken because the entire point of it was to force GSU's hand.

The CAA exit fee is $1 million. I think it was voted on shortly after ODU, GSU, and VCU left. However, if a school leaves in football only there is no exit fee.

(02-04-2014 01:28 PM)bridgeforthduke Wrote:  

(02-04-2014 12:17 PM)Panthersville Wrote:  

(02-04-2014 10:50 AM)GaSoEagle Wrote:  On the JMU board in some thread I read it was said that there is no exit fee in the Sun Belt if 12 months notice is given.

Is that correct?

If that is correct that needs to be addressed. If it is correct the Sun Belt must be the only conference with no exit fee.

The SEC doesn't have an exit fee. I don't think the PAC or Big 10 do either. When nobody want's out, you don't need one.

We have the opposite problem - everybody (that has a reasonable shot at getting out) wants out, so they don't want an exit fee.

The CAA threatened to institute an exit fee, which prompted Georgia State to announce it's departure. The vote on that exit fee was never taken because the entire point of it was to force GSU's hand.

The CAA exit fee is $1 million. I think it was voted on shortly after ODU, GSU, and VCU left. However, if a school leaves in football only there is no exit fee.

CAA Football and the CAA conference are unrelated entities.

(02-04-2014 11:35 AM)Miami (Oh) Yeah ! Wrote:  What was the SoCon's fee and how much notice did you give?

I believe the exit fee is $500k but we only had to pay $250k but I could be wrong about that. We "officially" gave the SoCon a little more than a year's notice but they were kept in the loop throughout the entire process with the SBC. Same for App St.

Charleston however did not give a lot of notice and did not keep the SoCon in the loop from their exit so I believe they had to pay the full exit fee.

Again, I'm working off memory here and I drink a lot, so I could be wrong.

(02-04-2014 12:48 PM)CrimsonPhantom Wrote:  

(02-04-2014 12:09 PM)FIUFan Wrote:  The most likely to leave will vote no and the least likely would like something. The one's new to the conference don't want to alienate anyone and the football only's and non-football schools don't really have a say.

There really is no way to build a consensus this early in the new relationships, so the whole issue is probably a non-starter. Besides, nobodies going anywhere for awhile anyways.

Schools who are here for Football only and Oly sports only should not have to pay the same amount of exit fees as a school who has all their sports in the conference.

There you go, yet another point of view. There really needs to be a strong opinion, held by most of the conference, for anything to get done (unless you're talking about things that are being forced on the conference which exit fees clearly is not).

If $50 million won't keep a school in the ACC what fee would lock someone to the Sun Belt?