The most-often-reported aspect of Michigan's courtship of John Beilein was the $2.5 million buyout in his contract with West Virginia ... in essence, it meant that to pry Beilein away from West Virginia, his new employer would have to pay $2.5 million.Not exactly, as it turns out. It just meant that someone had to pay the $2.5 million, and that someone, we know now, is John Beilein. Michigan certainly wasn't going to pay it. From Larry Lage of AP Sports:
[Michigan Athletic director Bill] Martin said negotiations on economics with Beilein took 10 seconds, adding he didn't need to address the buyout issue.Dear God ... he wanted out of Morgantown so badly that he was willing to pay $2.5 million out of his own pocket to go? What, did someone attempt to burn his couch? While he and his wife were sleeping on it?
"It never came up because there was no way Michigan was going to pay it," Martin said. "To John Beilein's credit, he said, `The buyout is my responsibility.'"
Both Beilein and West Virginia hope to keep the resolution private.
"The agreement on the buyout is between coach Beilein and West Virginia University," the school said in a statement from its general counsel's office. "Any details will be worked out between the two parties."
I don't know. It's possible that he's only paying some kind of negotiated, reduced fee ... no matter what it is, though, the fact of the matter is that John Beilein was willing to pay a very large sum of money to get away from WVU. That's a pretty substantial insult to add to the injury on his way out the door.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
4-04-2007 @ 10:43PM
Roger G said...
Either way the Rednecks will love Huggins. My family is all from Virginia and would love to see Huggins fall in an Out House..
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4-05-2007 @ 1:50AM
Elisha said...
Ha.. rednecks, eh? Virginia in some parts isn't a whole lot different from your neighbors to the west. Ignorance is bliss, isn't it?
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4-05-2007 @ 8:33AM
John Radcliff said...
I say it's assistant AD Mike Parsons, the one I think leaked to Greg Hunter that RRod was leaving. I've heard that both Beilein and Rod went to complain about Parsons before the NIT run. If so, we almost lost two coaches because of the Richard Crainium! I wish I could get the truth about that!!!! GRRRRRR!
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4-05-2007 @ 8:03PM
Swisher said...
Christ, can I please get another redneck joke on here? Have any of you people even been to West Virginia?
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4-06-2007 @ 1:20AM
Chuck said...
The temp is gone. Now we have the real deal in Huggins. How Michigan will ever get the NCAA tourney from the Big Ten without ever having a big man or inside game will be one of college basketball's most intriguing stories.
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4-06-2007 @ 2:46AM
Word said...
Here's one: How do they celebrate Halloween in West Virginia?? They Pump kin.
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4-06-2007 @ 10:19AM
D Barber said...
Please give those corn pickers(K-State) some cheese with their whine,,,lmao. Maybe after Michigan fires Beilein you guys can get him,you certainly can have him.
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4-06-2007 @ 9:37PM
Bill Higginbotham said...
When your beautiful sister/wife from Virginia has tobacco juice running down both sides of her mouth, it only means that the trailer is level.
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