The Sock 'Em, Bust 'Em Board Because that's our custom

Stewart’s contract

September 22, 2008 by Mike Casazza

That the story came out today was by coincidence and not by design. That Bill Stewart’s contract is a rather obvious reflection of the past was by design and not a coincidence.  

G. Coach’s Obligation Upon Termination. All materials or articles of information,
including without limitation, keys, keycards, cell phones, computers, equipment, parking
passes, automobiles,personnel records, recruiting records, team information, video,
statistics or any other materialdocuments, correspondence, or other data furnished to the
Coach by the University or developed by the Coach, whether directly or by others under
his supervision and control, on behalf of the University for the University’s use or
otherwise in connection with the Coach’s employment hereunder shall remain the sole
property of the University. Coach shall cause any and all such materials in his possession
or control to be delivered to the University by or before close of business on the date of
his termination of employment.

Not that I need to clarify this, but that’s quite clearly inserted with the P-Rod fiasco in mind. And there’s more…

Coach agrees that he will not, for a period of one year after resignation and acceptance of employment with another collegiate or professional football program, personally contact or otherwise seek to recruit any high school senior or transfer prospective student-athlete (a prospective student-athlete who is eligible for admission to the University or who has started classes for his senior year in high school) previously contacted or recruited by University.

Again, no need to elaborate, though I find it to be a sad state of affairs when a contract has specific instructions for basically saying “Hey, don’t be a jerk.” Moving on, there’s an interesting segment that makes it really, really difficult for Stewart to take WVU to court if he were to disagree with the condtions of his firing. 

These liquidated damages will constitute full settlement of any and all adverse claims that Coach might otherwise assert against University. Moreover, in the event that Coach asserts such a claim against the University, the University shall be released from any and all obligations to make payments to Coach under this Section from the date the claim is asserted to any entity, including the media, any agency, or a court.

Finally, Stewart’s incentives are lengthy and specific and it begins with one new twist.

(a) Regular season victories (not cumulative)

Other than that, it’s pretty generic, though potentially lucrative:

(b) Season ticket sales (not cumulative)  
(i) 30,000 season tickets sold (including employee and mini-packages) $10,000.00 or  
(ii) 32,500 season tickets sold (including employee and mini-packages) $15,000.00 or  
(iii) 35,000 season tickets sold (including employee and mini-packages) $20,000.00 or  
(iv) 37,500 season tickets sold (including employee and mini-packages) $25,000.00  
(c) Big East Conference  
(i) Regular season title (or share of title) $75,000.00 or  
(ii) Regular season runner-up (including ties) $50,000.00  
(d) Post Season Bowl Appearances (not cumulative)  
(i) Non-BCS Bowl $25,000.00 or  
(ii) Bowl Championship Series BCS Game $75,000.00 or BCS National Championship Game $100,000.00  
(e) BCS National Championship Title $150,000.00  
(f) Final Rankings (not cumulative)  
(i) Top 25 in ESPN/USA Today or AP polls $15,000.00 or  
(ii) Top lO in ESPN/USA Today or AP polls $25,000.00  
(g) Team Grade Point Averages (not cumulative)  
(i) of 2.60 or better for fall and spring semesters combined $20,000.00 or  
(ii) of 2.80 or better for fall and spring semesters Combined $25,000.00 or  
(iii) of 3.0 or better for fall and spring semesters combined $30,000.00  
(h) Coach of the Year Awards (cumulative)  
(i) Big East Conference Coach of the Year $15,000.00  
(ii) American Football Coaches Association $25,000.00

(iii) Associated Press $25,000.00
 (i) Academic Performance Rating (not cumulative)
 
(i) Rating of 925 $10,000.00 or  
(ii) Rating of 950 $20,000.00