The Western Athletic Conference is prepared to move forward with its men’s and women’s college basketball tournaments without Utah Valley. The Wolverines must pony up $1 million to be eligible.
This comes after a district court granted the university with a preliminary injunction.
Should Utah Valley choose not to put the $1 million in hands of the court, it would not be allowed to compete in the college basketball postseason. That would also mean it misses out on March Madness.
Why did the WAC ban Utah Valley from the college basketball tournament?
Lets start at the beginning. Utah Valley University was founded in the fall of 1941 when the Utah State Vocational Office consolidated federal work program classes into one campus in Provo. It was originally located just a few miles to the west of Brigham Young University. It later moved to Orem in 1967.
The public university underwent a series of name changes throughout the years before it landed on Utah Valley in 2008. The Wolverines officially joined the Western Athletic Conference in 2013.
However, they are going to leave the WAC for the Big West Conference in July.
This is where things get messy.
The WAC slapped Utah Valley with a “contractually obligated exit fee in the amount of $1 million” that the university failed to pay, which led the former to sue the later. It also declared the Wolverines ineligible for all postseason competition — in every sport — because they did not pay the fee.
That ruling is most problematic for the men’s basketball program.
Utah Valley finished as the No. 1 team in the WAC standings at 14-4 in conference play and 24-7 overall. It is only two wins away from March Madness because of how the bracket is structured.
The WAC said the Wolverines cannot compete if they do not pay the fee. They won’t even get the opportunity to play their way into the NCAA Tournament and it is a one-bid league.
A preliminary injunction requires the Wolverines to find $1 million.
Utah Valley obviously wants to compete in the WAC Tournament and, hopefully, March Madness. It even went to court to become eligible.
The university filed for a preliminary injunction in Utah’s Fourth District Court. A preliminary injunction would require the Western Athletic Conference to halt is ban on the Wolverines to effectively preserve the status quo. The goal is to prevent irreparable harm to the university while the lawsuit is pending.
Well, Utah’s Fourth District Court ruled to grant Utah Valley with a 14-day injunction that would allow the men’s and women’s basketball teams to compete in the conference tournament… on one condition.
The university was encouraged to put $1 million in escrow with the court. It apparently did not do so.
(UPDATE: There is an important nuance to the court’s orders! Utah Valley is trying to do the right thing!)
The Western Athletic Conference still released a statement on Tuesday afternoon with a hard deadline.
If the Wolverines do not put the $1 million exit fee in escrow with the court by 5:00 p.m. MT, they are out. The conference will release a new set of brackets without them.
“AS OF THIS TIME, UTAH VALLEY UNIVERSITY HAS NOT COMPLIED WITH A UTAH JUDGE’S ORDER THAT DIRECTS UTAH VALLEY UNIVERSITY TO PLACE $1 MILLION IN ESCROW WITH THE COURT—THE AMOUNT OF THEIR AGREED-UPON EXIT FEE FROM THE WESTERN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE. AS THE COURT ORDERED PRELIMINARY INJUNCTION IS CONTINGENT UPON THAT DIRECTIVE, THE WAC BOARD OF DIRECTORS HAS INSTRUCTED THE COMMISSIONER TO PLAN FOR THE MEN’S AND WOMEN’S WAC BASKETBALL TOURNAMENTS WITHOUT UTAH VALLEY UNIVERSITY, AS IT WOULD BE A MEMBER NOT IN GOOD STANDING.
“THE CONFERENCE WILL RELEASE NEW BRACKETS IF THE UNIVERSITY DOES NOT COMPLY WITH THE COURT’S DIRECTIVE WITHIN THE ORDER BY 5:00 P.M. MT ON TUESDAY, MARCH 10. THE CONFERENCE REGRETS THAT THE INTENTIONAL ACTIONS OF UTAH VALLEY UNIVERSITY HAVE CAUSED UNCERTAINTY AND HARM FOR INSTITUTIONS, STUDENT-ATHLETES, COACHES, STAFF AND FANS ACROSS THE WAC—INCLUDING AT UTAH VALLEY UNIVERSITY.”
Will Utah Valley pony up? We’ll see. The clock is ticking.