Southern Miss is still part of C-USA’s football schedule. Is a legal battle brewing?
A brewing legal battle between Southern Miss and Conference USA has been made public.
Following official statements from USM, Marshall and Old Dominion Friday that announced the three school’s intentions of leaving CUSA on June 30, 2022, CUSA responded publicly on Tuesday.
The league office put out a notice on social media regarding the departing members and their transitioning status.
“Conference USA intends to conduct the 2022-23 athletic year with the full 14 institution membership intact,” the statement read. “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.”
Then, C-USA released its official 2022 football schedule. It included all three schools who had previously announced their intentions to play Sun Belt Conference football this year.
Per Sports Illustrated reporter Ross Dellenger, the SBC has already created a schedule with the departing C-USA members and James Madison included in it.
That schedule is set to be released on March 1.
Conference USA bylaws state any school that terminates its membership must do so with a 14-month notice. According to USM’s statement on Friday, the school notified C-USA of its early exit in December, just eight months from the end of June.
The Sun Herald reached out to USM for comment regarding C-USA’s statement and the school responded by sticking to its original plan.
“We would refer you back to our original statement that we released on Friday,” a spokesperson for Southern Miss said.
Marshall interim athletic director Jeff O’Malley tweeted a public statement.
“Marshall athletics is aware that Conference USA released its 2022 football schedule this afternoon, however, we stand by our statement from Friday,” O’Malley wrote on Twitter.
Upon reaching out to the SBC following the school’s Friday announcement, a league spokesperson said it had no comment.
The SBC did not comment on CUSA’s statement on Tuesday.
