Parties involved have called it, "... a case that should have been settled a long time ago and could have been settled a long time ago."

"Best to get this distracting issue behind us," they said.

It is the college football version of peace in our time, the West Virginia University vs. its former football coach, Rich Rodriguez — a saga that was settled yesterday.

But it sort of reminds you of an ongoing conflict here, doesn't it?

The University of Hawai'i vs. June Jones showdown.

Rodriguez bolted for Michigan, leaving a segment of Mountaineer fans feeling jilted and the university due a $4 million buyout by contract. Yesterday, a deal was announced whereby Rodriguez will pay $1.5 million and Michigan will cough up $2.5 million to end the bitter seven-month skirmish if not entirely the ruffled feelings.

So, maybe, there is hope here, too.

Here the situation is both less expensive ($400,008) and less belligerent, but still a matter of strong feelings and controversy as, six months after Jones' departure for Southern Methodist, UH seeks the liquidated damages it says the contract called for if Jones left prior to the June 30, 2008, expiration of his contract.

Jones and his representatives have maintained that former athletic director Herman Frazier agreed to waive the clause midway through the five-year contract. They say they have e-mails to that end, but UH maintains the contract could only be changed in writing by mutual agreement. And so it has gone.

So far, we know that, "the mediation process is continuing," according to UH spokesman Gregg Takayama. If mediation fails to resolve the matter, it goes, by contract, to binding arbitration.

With the football season soon upon both UH and SMU and costs of a protracted dispute not insignificant, you'd like to think this could find a reasonable resolution, too.

One way out of this would be if Jones helped deliver UH a home game or two with SMU in the near future. UH would surely make much more than its $400,008 asking price back on a game pitting two UH head coaches and their staffs, past and present.

It would be an extra game for the Mustangs, and won't threaten existing scheduling because, under the NCAA's Hawai'i Exemption, teams playing the Warriors here receive a game beyond the usual 12-game maximum.

It would allow Jones, who was UH's most successful head coach in terms of wins and milestones, to keep a measure of good will that might otherwise be lost in the on-going clash. And it would allow UH officials to both bolster the sagging bottom line on the athletic department and end the dispute without coming off as vindictive in some eyes.

If West Virginia and Rodriguez could bury the hatchet some place other than in each other's backs, here's hoping UH and Jones can soon find a middle ground that works for all concerned.

Reach Ferd Lewis at flewis@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8044.