Hopefully This Will Help!

The University of West Virginia settled their lawsuit with Rich Rodriguez and the University of Michigan earlier today. West Virginia had filed suit against Rodriguez and the University of Michigan in an attempt to collect on Rodriguez's $4M buyout clause with the University. Rodriguez broke his contract and left the Mountaineers this past December. Under the terms of the settlement, Rodriguez will pay $1.5M in three annual payments beginning in January, 2010. The University of Michigan will pay the remaining $2.5M of the buyout.

In my opinion, this type of contract enforcement is long overdue. Coaches should be held accountable to the Universities, and more importantly to the athletes that they recruit. The vast majority of major college athletes decide on a school, not for the academic institution, but based solely on the coach. If the athlete doesn't receive the playing time that he was promised, if he doesn't get along with the coaching staff, or if he wants to be closer to home; whatever the reason, if that student athlete decides to leave school he is required to sit out a year. But the coach that the student athlete came halfway across the country to play for can leave a job on Friday and start the next job the following Monday. Why should a student athlete be punished and the coach not? Until now, a coaches contract has not been worth the ink on the paper it is written. The coaches have not had to pay any sort of price for welshing on their contract. Hopefully this will make coaches thing twice before jumping ship.

Interim Coach Finally Siezes The Opportunity

With the exit of Rich Rodriquez to Michigan, it was thought that West Virginia would be hard pressed to compete with Oklahoma in the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl. It was widely thought that with the uncertainty of the coaching staff at West Virginia, would the assistant coaches have the opportunity to stay at West Virginia, would some of them have an opportunity to follow Rodriquez to Michigan, or worse yet would some of the coaches be left without a job. With the assistant coaches having so much "up in the air," how could they possibly prepare a team like Oklahoma?

Not only did they prepare for Oklahoma, but they won. And won convincingly! The coaching staff put their team, the kids that they recruited and the University first (much like Rodriquez claimed to do last year when he turned down the Alabama job to stay "home" at West Virginia). And in a classy move by the University, Bill Stewart will be named the Head Coach this morning. Coach Stewart is the only interim head coach (that I am aware of) to capitalize on their opportunity and lead their team to a bowl game victory. Fortunately, Bill Stewart is getting rewarded for his efforts. Congratulations to Coach Stewart and the rest of the Mountaineer coaching staff!