NEW YORK (AP) — ESPN has sued Conference USA, accusing the league of violating their contract when it signed a new deal with Fox.

The lawsuit filed Wednesday in federal court in New York seeks either damages of at least $21 million or for the conference to honor the extension the network claims it agreed to.

“We are very disappointed that ESPN has taken this action,” Conference USA commissioner Britton Banowsky said in a statement. “We have had the benefit of legal counsel throughout this process and we disagree with the positions they have taken. We are prepared to vigorously defend any litigation initiated by them.

“As we said earlier, the idea that they were disadvantaged is incorrect. They had every opportunity to step up and address our concerns, and they simply did not.”

The two sides signed a five-year deal in 2005 worth $21.9 million. It included a provision giving ESPN exclusive rights to try to re-negotiate the package in 2010.

“We had agreed to terms in writing before they reneged,” said Burke Magnus, ESPN’s senior vice president of college sports programming.

The suit also claims Conference USA did not satisfy the terms that would have allowed it to negotiate with other networks. The league announced in January it had reached a five-year contract with Fox’s networks to broadcast its football championship game and other sports events.

The suit says the Fox deal is for $43 million, nearly double the amount ESPN contends Conference USA agreed on to stay with the network.