College Football: Rhode Island Judge Calls West Virginia Univ. a Corporation

In a ruling that may have a great impact on college football, a Rhode Island judge denied the University of West Virginia's attempt to have a Big East lawsuit dismissed.

It's hard to say what the ruling means for WVU's goal to become a member of the Big 12 Conference by 2012.

Today, the Charleston Daily Mail reported that Providence County Superior Court Judge Michael Silverstein "rejected West Virginia's motion on all grounds."

WVU had filed a motion to dismiss a suit the Big East filed against them that would stop the Mountaineers from leaving the Big East without honoring the 27-month waiting period to which all conference members agreed.

One of the reasons WVU had asked the court to throw out the suit was because they felt it was illegal to be tried in Rhode Island.  They claimed, according to the Daily Mail, that the university was a branch within the state government.

But Silverstein made it clear that he believes WVU falls under the jurisdiction of Rhode Island because "it is evident that WVU is a corporation."

This ruling comes about two weeks after a West Virginia court ruled out the Big East's attempt to dismiss WVU's suit against them.  WVU had sued the Big East for not allowing them to leave the conference before the 2012 football season.

It's hard to say what all this means for WVU and the Big East, but it looks like both suits have good chances of playing out in court.

It does seem that WVU will be on a very tight timeline to make it to the Big 12 by 2012, even if the courts allow them to do so.

Judge Calls WVU a Corporation

When Superior Court Judge Silverstein called WVU a corporation, he might have set the wheels turning for a big change in college football.

For the longest time, our state universities have been given non-profit status.  They don't pay taxes on such incoming revenues as student tuition.

State universities have been considered offshoots of the state, and they get away with things corporations just don't.

If Silverstein's view holds up, and these universities are indeed corporations, college football could be declared a division of the corporation—it could be declared a business.

Every state has looked in the other direction when it comes to the way their state universities run their football programs.

If it can be proved that universities are businesses, college football players might be on their way to receiving real employee rights, and under the National Labor Relations Act, they could be entitled to participate in collective bargaining.

Who Needs Lawsuits?

Who wants to go to court?  There's always a chance that neither party wins.  It will cost the citizens.

Would a reconciliation between WVU and the Big East be the answer?

It looks like the Big East has added six teams to their five remaining members (Rutgers, UConn, Louisville, Cincinnati and USF).

Boise State, San Diego State, Houston, SMU, UCF and Navy put the conference membership at 11 teams.  The Big East needs one more team.

Could WVU be that team?