University of Michigan to pay $2.5 million toward Rich Rodriguez settlement

The university of michigan has agreed to pay $2.5 million toward the settlement agreement rich rodriguez reached with West Virginia, U-M announced today.

athletic director bill martin said in a press release that U-M would pay $2.5 millon and Rodriguez would pay $1.5 million out of his own pocket, in three sums of $500,000.

"We are tremendously pleased to have been able to hire rich rodriguez as head coach of the University of michigan football team," Martin said in the statement. "With his enthusiasm, integrity, and creative strategies he has already begun to make his mark on the program, and we are looking forward with great excitement to the coming season. To help rich focus on the challenges ahead, we have worked with him to resolve the dispute between him and west virginia university over the terms of his buyout.

"Although he continues to disagree with the validity of the terms, Rich and the rest of us at Michigan felt that it would be best to get this distracting issue behind us..."

The payments Rodriguez will make will begin in January 2010. U-M Athletics will contribute $2.5 million in a single payment by the end of July. The athletic department also has agreed to pay Rodriguez' attorney fees.

According to the statement, "A financially self-sustaining unit at U-M, Athletics will cover all payments from its reserve funds, which are annual operational surpluses from such sources as sponsorships, licenses, and media rights payments."

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Thursday, July 10, 2008 |

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