Almost two years later, the trial that should not happen now, finally, has an end date.
The breach of contract suit between Oklahoma State and former Cowboys offensive line coach Joe Wickline is set for March 8, 2016, with a pre-trial hearing set for December. Oklahoma Associate District Judge Stephen Kistler issued the decision Monday.
“There are genuine issues of material fact that justify a trial,” Kistler wrote. “Neither party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.”
At issue is $600,000 Oklahoma State believes it is owed after, the school asserts, its former offensive line coach accepted a lateral position at Texas in January 2014. And it’s hard to argue that considering Shawn Watson testified he was indeed the Longhorns’ play-caller in a hearing last spring, and head coach Charlie Strong designated Jay Norvell as the Longhorns’ sole play-caller earlier this month.
Former Texas athletics director Steve Patterson insisted the suit did not pertain to Texas (and, sure, UT is not named as party) even as it devolved into an unqualified public-relations disaster for Texas, as Strong was caught on stand drawing a blank on Tyrone Swoopes’ name and the nation’s richest athletics department appeared to cheap to cough up less than half a percent of its yearly revenue to help out its offensive line coach.
We’ll see if interim AD Mike Perrin feels the same as his predecessor. He’d be wise to stroke a check and make this whole undignified mess go away.