Court rejects Maryland’s attempts to dismiss lawsuit over ACC exit fee

Maryland’s attempts to get the $52.3 million exit fee that they owe the ACC reduced took another turn for the worse on Tuesday.

From the AP:

A North Carolina appeals court Tuesday preserved a lawsuit that could force the University of Maryland to pay a $52 million fee for leaving the Atlantic Coast Conference.

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A state Court of Appeals panel rejected Maryland’s bid to dismiss the lawsuit. It was filed in Greensboro, where the ACC is headquartered. The three-judge panel’s unanimous decision means Maryland has no automatic right to a state Supreme Court appeal. But the higher state court could choose to hear an appeal.

Maryland will be jumping from the ACC to the Big Ten for the 2014-2015 season in large part due to the fact that they can make so much more money from the Big Ten’s TV deal. That matters for an athletic department that’s very much operating in the red; they had to cut multiple sports last season just to be able to pay their bills.