Do Big East Schools Have Legal Recourse Against West Virginia Mountaineers?

The Big East and West Virginia have made their peace, they signed a 25-page standstill agreement which declared WVU no longer a member of the Big East Conference, effective July 1, 2012.

But what about the individual members of the Big East? Didn't they suffer damages as a result of WVU leaving so soon before the beginning of next year's football season?

Can't they bring suit against WVU on an individual basis, as Florida State has considered?

Florida State’s athletic director Randy Spetman told the Orlando Sentinel  that the Seminoles may pursue litigation against WVU because they cancelled next year's non-conference game with just seven months before the start of the season.

All seven remaining Big East teams are trying to replace the WVU game, while they're struggling to fill out their 12-game schedules.

Three of them (UConn, Louisville, Pitt) join FSU in their attempt to avoid losing a home game, one that's against a quality team.

What if they can't fill out a 12 game schedule? What if they have to only play 11 games next year—how damaging would this be?

If any of these teams lose a home game, that means loss of ticket sales and concessions. This could be in the millions.

For all seven, it could mean more difficulty reaching six wins and qualifying for a bowl game next season. This could be costly in its own right.

Finding a replacement game may not be easy in such little time and it's exactly why the Big East wrote a 27-month waiting period into its bylaws.

Rumors have surfaced that Boise State, one of six new additions to the Big East starting in 2013, may be interested in joining for the 2012 season.

If any of these new Big East teams joins a year early, it would solve the problem and the Mountaineers would be off the hook.

And having the Big East play an eight-team schedule next year is definitely in WVU's interest: part of the settlement clearly states West Virginia and the Big 12 pledged to use their “reasonable best efforts to help [Big East] conference members schedule additional football games for the 2012-2013 season.”

The settlement document continues: "West Virginia is not required to take any steps in regard to scheduling “if another school announces it is joining the Big East for football for the 2012-13 season.”

Florida State's Spetman claims besides the $500,000 buyout, there will be other damages if FSU can't find another opponent: “You’re talking about a lot of money.”

Wouldn't the same hold true for any Big East team losing a home game?

Everyone's hoping for one of the new Big East teams to join the conference next season; it would be the best solution for all parties.

But these teams also have large buyouts to deal with from their respective conferences.

Boise State's Mountain West Conference buyout is estimated to be between $7.5 million and $9 million, this according to Sportsology's Mike Messink.

The Big East may not be as anxious as the Big 12 was with WVU and help Boise State or any of the new teams with their buyouts.

So while WVU has rid themselves of the entity known as the Big East, does its recent schedule change still create legal recourse for the entities of FSU and the individual members of the Big East?

Do the Mountaineers' legal woes continue to lag?