Miami to pay Arkansas State $400K as part of settlement
CORAL GABLES — A little more than two months after a judge ordered Miami and Arkansas State to use a third-party mediator to resolve their dispute over a football game canceled ahead of Hurricane Irma, the two schools have reached a settlement.
A Miami spokesman confirmed the two schools had reached a settlement, but declined to give any specifics on the deal. However, in a statement released by Arkansas State, the school said Miami has agreed to pay Arkansas State $400,000 and the canceled game will not be rescheduled.
“I am pleased that both lawsuits have been resolved and that this matter is now behind us,” Arkansas State attorney Brad Phelps said in the statement. “I believe this is a fair resolution of these issues.”
Arkansas State originally sued Miami back in February for $650,000 in damages after UM failed to reschedule its Sept. 9, 2017 game in Jonesboro that was canceled ahead of Irma’s approach.
That canceled game was part of a two-game contract that had Arkansas State play at Miami in 2014. The Hurricanes won that game 41-20.
Before filing its lawsuit against Miami earlier this year, Phelps wrote that Arkansas State had “suffered significant disruption and damages” and was seeking compensation under the contract the two schools signed in 2013. He also wrote that Miami’s offer to reschedule the game in either 2024, 2025, 2026, 2027 or 2028 was “not workable for and would be detrimental to Arkansas State University,” which was looking to reschedule the game in either 2020 or 2021.
Willis III receives honor: Though the official rosters have yet to be unveiled ahead of the Reese’s Senior Bowl and invitations are still being delivered, at least one Hurricane knows he has earned an invite to the high-profile game in Mobile, Alabama on Jan. 26
Defensive tackle Gerald Willis III, who leads the Hurricanes with 17 tackles for loss, tweeted on Wednesday that he had been invited.
Dallas powering through: It’s been a rough stretch for Hurricanes sophomore running back DeeJay Dallas, who after not fumbling in his first 20 games now has a combined four fumbles in Miami’s losses to Duke and Georgia Tech.
Fellow running back Travis Homer and Miami quarterback Malik Rosier were spotted encouraging Dallas on the sideline Saturday night in Atlanta after he turned the ball over in what was eventually a 27-21 loss to the Yellow Jackets.
“I mean, really at that point, it’s a mindset thing,” Homer said. “That’s what we were telling him, like, ‘You’ve got to get that out of your head because this team needs you.’ ”
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