HUNTINGTON, W.Va – Marshall University is celebrating a pair of wins in court in its dispute with the University of Pittsburgh over a cancelled football game.
In a matter of days last week, a Pennsylvania court upheld a decision to dismiss Pitt’s lawsuit against Marshall, and a jury ruled in MU’s favor for its case filed in Cabell County Circuit Court.
“Pitt filed first. They filed an action against Marshall in the state of Pennsylvania. Pennsylvania concluded Marshall, as an entity of this state, cannot be sued in another state, and then we, in turn, filed an action here in Cabell County, which is the case that went to trial last week,” Marshall Chief Legal Officer Toney Stroud said Monday on MetroNews Talkline.
Marshall played the first half of a scheduled two-game series in Pittsburgh in 2016, but the return trip to Huntington was called off in 2020 due to COVID-19 restrictions. That set off the legal process, beginning with Marshall.
“There were efforts made after that to reschedule, but things never did get finalized and in September of 2024, we sent a letter to Pitt asking to either reschedule the game or pay the damages,” Stroud said.
Pitt is expected to appeal the jury’s decision, which would put the case in front of West Virginia’s Intermediate Court of Appeals. Stroud believes the case could continue up the ladder and be left without a solution for some time.
“I fully expect Pitt will appeal, and following that decision, assuming Marshall is successful, it could go to the West Virginia Supreme Court, so it could still take a couple of years for this to be finalized,” he said.
Stroud counts the win as an example of Marshall taking a stand against a larger entity and refusing to give up what it feels it is owed. He said it draws a line that Marshall should not be messed with.
“I think it was important for Marshall to send that message. We may be a smaller school, but we’re not going to back down and not ask others to follow through with their contractual agreements with us,” Stroud said.
A judge in Cabell County will determine the settlement Marshall is owed, and Stroud indicated the university is not inclined to negotiate a smaller number. He said there is a clear value outlined in the original contract.
“When these games get cancelled, it is pretty difficult to determine an exact dollar amount, so most of the agreements contain a fixed amount, and under this agreement it was a million dollars,” Stroud said.
Steptoe and Johnson represented Marshall during the civil trial.