WAC, Utah Valley agree to settle up

LAS VEGAS — Divorces are rarely amicable. Oftentimes they get downright nasty. And money is usually the root cause.

In the case of the Western Athletic Conference at Utah Valley, it has really gotten contentious.

The WAC, whose postseason basketball tournament tips off Wednesday at the Orleans Arena, is going forward with it’s top-seeded men’s team, that being Utah Valley, after the university and the conference agreed to meet the terms of the agreement that has Utah Valley leaving the WAC for the Big West July 1.

Utah Valley had not paid the $1 million exit fee and it has wound up in court. The WAC demanded that the money be placed in escrow by 4 p.m. PT Tuesday or Utah Valley would be barred from competing in both the men’s and women’s tournaments. Utah Valley’s women are the No. 4 seed.

The deadline came and Utah Valley agreed it would have the money sent to the escrow account before the tournament tips off Wednesday.

It means Utah Valley (24-7), will get to compete after all, assuming the school delivers as it agreed to. The Wolverines are in the midst of the best season in school history as a Division I program. However, their NET ranking is just 85 and it’s unlikely UVU would be given an at-large spot in the field of 68 come Sunday. So it will likely need to win the WAC Tournament in order to get in. The championship game is scheduled for Saturday night at The Orleans.

Of course, the WAC isn’t the only conference where change has been contentious. The Mountain West and the Pac-12 have gone to court over exit fees for five schools that are leaving the Mountain West to join the Pac-12. That case is still being sorted out.

And while Gonzaga’s exit from the West Coast Conference appears to be amicable on the surface, there’s still haggling over money between the conference and the university in terms of how much of and exit fee the Bulldogs will pay to leave for the Pac-12.

But with Utah Valley willing to agree to the settlement with the WAC, it gets to win on the court instead of trying to win in court.