Rodriguez at odds with West Virginia
editor1 |Feb 01,2008
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DETROIT (Ticker) -- The divorce between Michigan coach Rich
Rodriguez's relationship with his former employer, West
Virginia, continues to get messier, according to a published
report on Friday.
The Detroit Free Press said that Rodriguez felt obligated to
resign from West Virginia because of the administration's
actions - not because he received a better offer from Michigan.
Furthermore, Rodriguez and his team of lawyers are suggesting
the only way to determine his financial obligation to his old
school is to open the books of the WVU Foundation - West
Virginia's private fundraising arm - the report said.
That was a key demand in the formal response that Rodriguez
filed Friday in response to West Virginia's lawsuit over the $4
million buyout clause in his contract, according to the Free
Press.
The foundation is not legally obligated to open its books to
public scrutiny under ordinary circumstances.
"The only way to tell whether or not West Virginia University
has been damaged is to see if its donations to the foundation
have decreased and/or if other expenses have increased," said
Rodriguez's lawyers, noting the Mountaineers hired assistant
coach Bill Stewart to replace Rodriguez at a significantly
cheaper salary.
Earlier this week, according to numerous reports, Rodriguez
filed a $1.5 million letter of credit with the court, arguing
that was the most he could potentially owe under the contract in
effect when he quit.
Rodriguez's counterclaim reportedly also argued that the school
lacked the authority to file the lawsuit, saying it should have
first been approved by a formal meeting of the Board of
Governors.
The newspaper said that Rodriguez asked the court to make the
foundation a third party to the lawsuit, citing recent news
releases that claimed gifts to the foundation "were at an
all-time high."
He has repeatedly claimed since his departure on December 18
that West Virginia broke the contract by failing to honor a
variety of verbal promises, including one to reduce or eliminate
his buyout.
The Free Press also reported the gradual disintegration of the
relationship between Rodriguez and the Mountaineers' athletic
department was documented in a series of e-mails written over a
five-month period, showing that Rodriguez's relationship with
the school went downhill months before he resigned.
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