Marshall sues Conference USA to push up departure for Sun Belt

According to a copy of the case filed Tuesday, Marshall has filed a lawsuit to get out of Conference USA so it can join the Sun Belt this summer.

The Conference USA memberships of Marshall, Old Dominion and Southern Miss will be terminated on June 30 in order to join the Sun Belt. Conference USA released its football schedule in February, which included all three schools, and promised to exhaust all necessary legal actions to ensure the outgoing members would participate this fall.

For more than two months, Marshall University has attempted to reach a resolution with Conference USA regarding our decision not to participate in the league after this academic year, however, no progress has been made, according to a Marshall athletics spokesman. We look forward to a successful resolution of this matter and a bright future for the Sun Belt Conference.

Conference USA has no comment at this time, according to a spokesman.

The lawsuit was filed in Cabell County Circuit Court in Huntington, West Virginia, which is where the case will be heard. Conference USA wants to compel Marshall to arbitrate its dispute with the league in Dallas.

Members of Conference USA are required to give 14 months notice before leaving the league. According to the lawsuit, Marshall informed C-USA of its intentions to leave the league three times. According to the lawsuit, on January 20, Marshall again notified the conference that it would end its membership on July 1 and requested not to be placed on any C-USA athletic schedule going forward.

Conference USA released its football schedule in 2022.

Marshall argues in the lawsuit that when it signed its new member agreement to join Conference USA, it did not include a copy of the bylaws that existed at that time. The school states that the current bylaws don't have an effective date or a signature page, and that the current bylaws didn't include language requiring arbitration as to disputes about the school's membership in the conference.

According to the lawsuit, Marshall is an arm of the state of West Virginia, which gives it immunity from C-USA's Demand for Arbitration.

There is a strong likelihood that Marshall will suffer actual, imminent, immediate, and irreparable harm in the absence of preliminary relief, and the balance of hardships weighs in the favor of the Plaintiff.

Since July 1, 2005, Marshall has competed in Conference USA.