SIU fired Lowery "with cause" and won't pay contract

[PantherSigEp]

Pay the man that ran the program into the ground? Pay the man that had 4 players play all four years for him? Pay the man that had 2 players miss the fall semester due to grades, oh one of whom is your own cousin? SIU's apr dropped like a rock under lowery. clo was no saint i doubt he wants his dirty laundry aired in court

Glad to see a Saluki fan back on the board!

However, for the the reason you listed and the fact that most SIU sports (or at least the biggest in basketball and football) have sharply declined in recent years how is Mario Moccia still the AD in Carbondale? He seems like a genuinely nice guy but his recent job performance leaves something to be desired.

What are the general feelings about him among the Saulki faithful and how much longer can we expect to see him in his current position?

[TylerDurden]

Pay the man that ran the program into the ground? Pay the man that had 4 players play all four years for him? Pay the man that had 2 players miss the fall semester due to grades, oh one of whom is your own cousin? SIU's apr dropped like a rock under lowery. clo was no saint i doubt he wants his dirty laundry aired in court

Pay the man who had a contract and was terminated before its term was finished. It takes two parties to make a contract. Lowery didn't force SIU to pay him so much. SIU has obligations, too.

I understand what they're trying to do, but don't like the method. Seems to me they could have just privately asked for a negotiation of the buyout instead of publicly saying they aren't paying him anything. Ultimately, they probably will settle for a lesser amount and everyone walks away unscathed.

[GrandpaBear]

Good luck to SIU ever finding a good coach if they refuse to pay the ones they fire. Bad precedent to set if you asked me. Look at the Raiders for a comparison.

[Trapped in CA]

Pay the man that ran the program into the ground? Pay the man that had 4 players play all four years for him? Pay the man that had 2 players miss the fall semester due to grades, oh one of whom is your own cousin? SIU's apr dropped like a rock under lowery. clo was no saint i doubt he wants his dirty laundry aired in court

Yes. Pay him. It may not be the full amount, but negotiate in private at least. It's not about hurt feelings or people flunking classes. Its about contract law.

Unless there is a specific condition of the contract that poor APR performance equals "for cause" its not going to stand up to scrutiny in court. If the contract defines the for cause firings as the usual things: breaking the law, moral turpitude (see Larry Eustachy @ Iowa State or Bobby Petrino more recently), or violation university/NCAA regs, Lowery could present a defamation cause (though it would be a weak argument at this point).

Prom date gets a corsage & dinner regardless of what happens after the dance.

[Ricardo del Rio]

SIU isn't dumb. If they didn't think they had a case to get off with less than the sum total they owe Lowery (1.5 million or so), they wouldn't have taken this step.

The scenarios:

a) Lowery agrees that he breached the contract with SIU and is owed nothing
b) Lowery attempts to reach a negotiated settlement with SIU
c) Lowery sues. SIU spends 20,000 to 40,000 on their legal fees and the court finds in Lowery's favor; SIU pays a few more thousand dollars for Lowery's legal costs.
d) Lowery sues. SIU spends 20,000 to 40,000 on their legal fees and the court finds in SIU's favor.

In the worst case, SIU pays 2% more to Lowery.

At the modest rate of $300/hour, $20,000 only buys 67 hours of billable hours. You might want to re-think your estimate of potential legal fees.

Legal fees for a protracted settlement process, either judicial, arbitration or negotiation, could easily cost several hundred thousand dollars.

If Obama's Justice Department takes Coach Lowery's side, it could cost much more.

[blueblood]

It was my understanding that normally the Athletic Dept. goes to boosters to get the cash needed to make a change. Are there none? If this is the route they were going to take couldn't they have done this long ago? If there is cause now, wasn't there cause long ago? I agree with other posters that this only makes SIU look bad. Is money that bad at SIU? Has this happened anywhere else before this?

[DawgieStyle]

Pay the man that ran the program into the ground? Pay the man that had 4 players play all four years for him? Pay the man that had 2 players miss the fall semester due to grades, oh one of whom is your own cousin? SIU's apr dropped like a rock under lowery. clo was no saint i doubt he wants his dirty laundry aired in court

Yes. Pay him. It may not be the full amount, but negotiate in private at least. It's not about hurt feelings or people flunking classes. Its about contract law.

Unless there is a specific condition of the contract that poor APR performance equals "for cause" its not going to stand up to scrutiny in court. If the contract defines the for cause firings as the usual things: breaking the law, moral turpitude (see Larry Eustachy @ Iowa State or Bobby Petrino more recently), or violation university/NCAA regs, Lowery could present a defamation cause (though it would be a weak argument at this point).

Prom date gets a corsage & dinner regardless of what happens after the dance.

You're right, it's about contract law, and if Lowery didn't uphold a portion of that contract, and that is proven in court, this is the right step for SIU. Lowery destroyed the program, destroyed it. He should be held accountable for that, not only by his firing, but also monetarily if he failed to act on the academics side as outlined in his contract.

Lowery had certain obligations as coach to promote academicians, graduation rates, good grades, player retention, etc. under the contract. If he didn't take the proper steps and measures to assure that, then he is in breach of contract.

[Ricardo del Rio]

[quote="DawgieStyle
Lowery had certain obligations as coach to promote academicians, graduation rates, good grades, player retention, etc. under the contract. If he didn't take the proper steps and measures to assure that, then he is in breach of contract.[/quote]

If not precisely defined, "promote" is a pretty squishy word.

[Trapped in CA]

To get an idea of what a coaches contract looks like, here is Ben Jacobson's

http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=3&ved=0CDUQFjAC&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.desmoinesregister.com%2Fassets%2Fpdf%2FBenJacobson_contract.pdf&ei=b3qZT9-9NqOriAKgjtncDw&usg=AFQjCNElaqd-2-pNcx-_JTO1idncFHLWbQ

Unless SIU has been sanctioned by the NCAA for grades, or SIU has a file full of reprimands, this will be a tough position to defend.

[Ace Dad]

There is no defense for this position. None.