The Pac-12 Conference has countersued the Holiday Bowl in San Diego over a $3.4 million payment the league says it was owed for the game in December 2022, adding to the issues being sorted out by the league after it fell apart last year in the latest wave of college realignment.
The Pac-12’s countersuit comes about eight months after the Holiday Bowl first sued the Pac-12 in May in San Diego County Superior Court. In that lawsuit, the nonprofit bowl game sought payback from the league after the Holiday Bowl game in 2021 was canceled amid COVID-19 issues with players for UCLA, a member of the Pac-12.
A view of the PAC-12 field logo before the game between the Oregon Ducks and the Washington State Cougars at Autzen Stadium.
“Holiday Bowl has breached the Agreement by failing and refusing to make any payment to (the Pac-12) in connection with the 2022 Holiday Bowl Game,” the Pac-12’s countersuit states. “Holiday Bowl’s breach is not justified or excused.”
From NFL plays to college sports scores, all the top sports news you need to know every day.
The Holiday Bowl claimed last year that it suffered more than $7.8 million in losses from the canceled game in 2021 and later tried to offset this by withholding its required payment to the Pac-12 for the game that took place in 2022 between North Carolina and Oregon, another Pac-12 member.
Now the Pac-12 is asking the court to help the league collect.
Backdrop of Pac-12 issues
This court action comes even though the Pac-12 membership has been reduced to two members for 2024: Oregon State and Washington State. Those two schools recently gained control of the league’s governing board, which retained the league’s assets and future revenues.
The two schools have two years to chart a new future while staying in the “Pac-2,” which could include combining with the Mountain West Conference.
It’s a time of swirling change for the league, as 10 of its other members get ready to depart later this year for the Big Ten, Big 12 and Atlantic Coast Conferences. The 10 departing schools agreed to “provide specific guarantees against potential future liabilities” for the Pac-12, though it’s not clear if that could include what may come of this bowl game litigation.
On Tuesday, the league also issued a statement about the future of Pac-12 commissioner George Kliavkoff, who replaced Larry Scott in 2021.
“The Pac-12 Conference Board has given the departing 10 schools notice of a proposed leadership transition with an invitation to provide comment,” the statement said. “We expect to provide more information following a decision in the coming days.”
What is the countersuit seeking?
The Pac-12’s countersuit was filed Jan. 19 but hasn’t been previously reported. It accuses the Holiday Bowl of breach of contract and seeks a judgment in its favor according to proof. It says the Holiday Bowl agreed to make a $3.4 million minimum payment to the league after every game in which the Pac-12 participates through 2025.
By contrast, the Holiday Bowl stated in its lawsuit against the Pac-12 last year that the payout obligation to the league for the 2022 game was reconciled at $2.45 million – an amount withheld by the Holiday Bowl to offset larger losses from the canceled game in 2021.
The dispute essentially comes down to whether the Pac-12’s nonperformance in that 2022 game was excused under the “Force Majeure” provision in its contract, which covers “any unavoidable casualty, which cannot be reasonably forecast or provided against.”
The bowl game said the force majeure clause “could have been negotiated to included pandemic impacts and considerations but was not.”
The Pac-12’s countersuit also goes a step further and invokes the Holiday Bowl game from 2020, which was canceled months in advance during the middle of the pandemic.
“Holiday Bowl has breached the Agreement by failing and refusing to make any payment to Cross-Complainant in connection with the 2020 Holiday Bowl Game,” the Pac-12’s lawsuit states. “Holiday Bowl’s breach is not justified or excused. As a result of Holiday Bowl’s breach of the Agreement, Cross-Complainant has been damaged in an amount to be determined.”
Follow reporter Brent Schrotenboer @Schrotenboer. Email: [email protected].
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Pac-12 Conference countersues Holiday Bowl amid swirling changes
News Related
-
Anyone who’s purchased gift baskets to hand out to loved ones this holiday season might need to find a backup present after the latest food recall that involves festive cookies. Gift basket company Wine Country Gift Baskets just announced that it is voluntarily recalling all gift baskets that feature Acorn Baking ...
See Details:
Recall Just Announced For Popular Cookies Featured In Holiday Gift Baskets
-
LOS ANGELES: Quarterback Jalen Hurts ran in an overtime touchdown to give the Philadelphia Eagles a 37-34 NFL win over the Buffalo Bills Sunday (Monday in Manila) and move them to 10-1 on the season. The Eagles, who lost the Super Bowl to Kansas City last season, trailed at half-time ...
See Details:
Eagles rally past Bills in overtime as Chiefs win
-
Yen Makabenta First word WHILE UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and other promoters of the climate emergency are preparing to convene the 28th conference of the parties (COP28) of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in the United Arab Emirates, starting on November 30 and stretching to December 12, ...
See Details:
Reality bites the green energy agenda
-
Sandigan orders Marcos Sr. pal to pay workers The Sandiganbayan has ordered the enforcement of a July 2023 ruling ordering a Marcos Sr. associate to pay a lumber company’s workers P2.1 million in damages as well as return 60 percent of their company’s shares and pay all unpaid benefits. The ...
See Details:
Sandigan orders Marcos Sr. pal to pay workers
-
DSWD: Shear line, LPA affect 1.2 million people; over 18,000 families evacuated MANILA, Philippines – More than 18,000 families have fled to evacuation centers across flood-affected regions in the country due to the impact of the shear line and low pressure area. Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) gave ...
See Details:
DSWD: Shear line, LPA affect 1.2 million people; over 18,000 families evacuated
-
-
MANILA, Philippines: The entire Luzon, including Metro Manila, is expected to experience isolated rain showers and thunderstorms as the northeast monsoon (“amihan”) and easterlies will be affecting the country over the next 24 hours, the state-run weather agency said on Tuesday. Weather specialist Patrick del Mundo of the Philippine Atmospheric ...
See Details:
Rain showers, thunderstorms over Luzon, including Metro Manila — Pagasa
-
Attention, Naruto fans! You can soon watch the famous anime’s live-action adaptation as it finally has a confirmed writer. According to a Variety report, the beloved manga and anime series is set to head to big screens for its live-action adaptation under Lionsgate. It will be written by Tasha Hao, ...
See Details:
'Naruto' live-action film adaptation is in the works
-
Attention, Naruto fans! You can soon watch the famous anime’s live-action adaptation as it finally has a confirmed writer. According to a Variety report, the beloved manga and anime series is set to head to big screens for its live-action adaptation under Lionsgate. It will be written by Tasha Hao, ...
See Details:
NASA Highlights Stingray Nebula
-
Attention, Naruto fans! You can soon watch the famous anime’s live-action adaptation as it finally has a confirmed writer. According to a Variety report, the beloved manga and anime series is set to head to big screens for its live-action adaptation under Lionsgate. It will be written by Tasha Hao, ...
See Details:
Manila's Lagusnilad underpass opens
-
Attention, Naruto fans! You can soon watch the famous anime’s live-action adaptation as it finally has a confirmed writer. According to a Variety report, the beloved manga and anime series is set to head to big screens for its live-action adaptation under Lionsgate. It will be written by Tasha Hao, ...
See Details:
China probes debt-ridden financial giant
-
Attention, Naruto fans! You can soon watch the famous anime’s live-action adaptation as it finally has a confirmed writer. According to a Variety report, the beloved manga and anime series is set to head to big screens for its live-action adaptation under Lionsgate. It will be written by Tasha Hao, ...
See Details:
China's VUCA situation
-
Attention, Naruto fans! You can soon watch the famous anime’s live-action adaptation as it finally has a confirmed writer. According to a Variety report, the beloved manga and anime series is set to head to big screens for its live-action adaptation under Lionsgate. It will be written by Tasha Hao, ...
See Details:
Unraveling the mystery that is diabetes
-
Attention, Naruto fans! You can soon watch the famous anime’s live-action adaptation as it finally has a confirmed writer. According to a Variety report, the beloved manga and anime series is set to head to big screens for its live-action adaptation under Lionsgate. It will be written by Tasha Hao, ...
See Details:
Bangladesh's nuke plant is not going to steal PH investments
OTHER NEWS
ALIW Awards Foundation Inc. President Alice H. Reyes has released the names of finalists for the 2023 Aliw Awards to be presented on Dec. 11, 2023, at the Manila Hotel ...
Read more »
WhatsApp Web gains the feature of single-view photos and videos (Photo: Unsplash) The WhatsApp Web, the desktop version of the popular messaging app from Meta, has received an update allowing ...
Read more »
Young athletes’ time to shine in Siklab Awards MANILA, Philippines — The future heroes of Philippine sports will be honored during the third Siklab Youth Sports Awards on Dec. 4 ...
Read more »
Graphics by Jannielyn Ann Bigtas A local government official said Monday that five to 10 barangays in Northern Samar are still isolated following the massive flooding in the area last ...
Read more »
DyipPay app lets you pay jeepney fare, book tricycles “Barya lang po sa umaga.” Everyone who rides jeepneys knows this rule: it may not be an actual law, but it’s ...
Read more »
Updated In-Season Tournament Bracket ahead of pool play finale Tuesday will mark the last day of pool play for the inaugural NBA In-Season Tournament. From there, six first-place teams and ...
Read more »
PCG forms teams for maritime emergency response MANILA, Philippines — Recent incidents of fishermen lost in the waters off Southern Tagalog have prompted the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) to form ...
Read more »