The saga surrounding Bill Stewart‘s termination at West Virginia has already taken several strange twists. In all honesty, it brings to mind the scene from the first “Austin Powers” movie where several unsuccessful attempts to kill a female assassin are met with “Why won’t you die!?”
But as documents obtained by the Charleston Daily Mail show, Stewart was essentially backed into a corner when it came to his future in Morgantown.
The Daily Mail was able to gain access -- through the Freedom of Information Act -- to the seven-page modified employment agreement between Stewart and WVU AD Oliver Luck signed on Nov. 17, just four days after WVU’s win over Cincinnati. Shortly after that game, Luck informed Stewart of his inevitable release from his position.
In a nutshell, the agreement laid out two options for Stewart: resign immediately following the end of the 2010 season, or as his current situation dictates, stay on in 2011 and ease his way out with a coach-in-waiting (Dana Holgorsen).
Had Stewart not agreed to either of those conditions, WVU could have fired him with cause and without compensation due to the ongoing NCAA investigation of the program. In Stewart’s Sept. 2008 contract extension, WVU defined “cause” as a “serious or major violation, whether intentional or negligent, or a pattern of violations, of the written rules, regulations, policies, procedures or standards of the NCAA, the University or the Big East Conference.”
However, the Nov. amended contract between Stewart and Luck stated that Stewart’s signature would “waive any right to terminate Stewart for any alleged act or occurrence related in any way to the allegations in the NCAA case,”
If Stewart didn’t accept the modified contract, he probably would have been fired with cause, but by agreeing to the contract, Stewart was signing his own forced resignation in which he “couldn’t be fired for cause”.
Or, as it’s commonly known, a severance package.
The situation is complicated, but if the university had just canned Stewart in the beginning without cause, they would owe him about $2.5 million. By sticking on for next year, Stewart will get $925,000 plus incentives.
Still, whatever happened to just firing the guy, plain and simple?
