Geno Ford's decision to leave Kent State to become Bradley's next coach apparently was hardly a clean break.
Kent State is now suing its former coach for more than $1.2 million in damages because the school alleges he had no permission to break the terms of his contract. When Ford signed a five-year contract extension after the 2009-10 season, part of that agreement was a buyout clause stipulating Kent State would be owed $300,000 for every remaining year on Ford's contract if he left.
Buyout clauses such as this are standard in college basketball and football because athletic departments negotiate them into contracts to serve as a deterrent for ambitious coaches eager to leave for another job. Nonetheless, this is hardly the first time a university has taken its former coach to court over breach of contract.
In 2010, Marist won a lawsuit against former coach Matt Brady alleging that Brady broke his contract by taking several players with him to James Madison that he'd recruited while coaching the Red Foxes. In 2008, West Virginia and former football coach Rich Rodriguez settled a lawsuit requiring Michigan to pay $2.5 million of Rodriguez's $4 million buyout and the coach to pay a total of $1.5 million in three installments.
It's possible that Kent State's lawsuit could end in a similar settlement, but for now Ford is adamant that he did nothing wrong.
"During the process, everything was handled professionally and appropriately," Ford said in a statement on Wednesday. "It is unfortunate this has turned into a legal matter. I look forward to a quick resolution."
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