WVU to pay $937,500 to shut up John Raese

The West Virginia Board of Governors paid $937,500 to suit-happy John Raese’s West Virginia Radio Corp. to settle the media rights lawsuit. The agreement stipulates that Raese can’t talk about the settlement for five years.

It was described as “partial reimbursement for attorney fees.” Since I was involved in a class action lawsuit I can tell you that Raese doesn’t profit from this settlement, not after the avalanche of lawsuits he filed. The lawyers do, though.

In the healthcare lawsuit by 50 Akron Beacon Journal retirees, the newspaper agreed to restore retirement-day healthcare coverage and to pay the retirees’ attorney fees, which came within $200,000 of the Raese/BOG settlement. If the newspaper paid its outside attorneys as much as the retirees’ attorneys charged, that would have come to $3.5 million in legal fees. These guys aren’t cheap.

Raese filed suit in June 2013 alleging former athletic director Oliver Luck conspired with several key figures, including BOG chairman and West Virginia Media investor Drew Payne, to rig the media rights bidding in favor of IMG College. IMG’s bid was significantly higher than what Raese had been paying WVU for decades for the sports coverage rights.

IMG, in the second round of bidding, agreed to pay WVU $86.5 million over 12 years for third-tier rights to football and basketball games not covered by the Big 12's TV deals, all radio broadcasts, coaches shows, website content and campus signage.

Oliver Luck, the main source of Raese’s ire, left WVU for a major role in the NCAA.