University of Washington Settles with Coach

(Given the slow news day relating to Cal Football, I'm posting this article about a Pac-10 school that used to have a good football team)
Neuheisel settles with UW, NCAA for $4.5M
A $4.5 million settlement has been reached in the lawsuits brought by former University of Washington football coach Rick Neuheisel against the school and the NCAA, according to a statement by the UW. The NCAA will pay him $2.5 million in cash, and the university will pay $500,000 in cash and forgive a $1.5 million loan given to him in 2002 as part of his compensation. The settlement is about half as much as Neuheisel could have received had the jury in the ongoing trial decided on his behalf. The university said its portion of the settlement will be paid from the Department of Intercollegiate Athletics' operating reserve fund.
Neuheisel sued the university for wrongful termination; and sued the NCAA for pressuring the university to fire him. Neuheisel was fired in June 2003.
The trial has been going on for six weeks, and closing arguments in the case were scheduled to begin Monday. The university said in a statement that it was "confident" it had made its case in court, but last week "events outside the university's control raised the serious threat of a mistrial or reversal." The event referred to was the surprise disclosure that the NCAA violated its own policies when it conducted an interview of Neuheisel about participating in a college basketball betting pool. He was not told of the gambling issue prior to the interview, and he charged in his lawsuits that he was "ambushed" with it, when he expected to discuss minor recruitment violations.
NCAA officials disclosed that changes in the association's bylaws two months before the interview required that he be informed of the subjects that would be covered in interviews with investigators. The interview was a centerpiece of Neuheisel's cases.
The King County Superior Court judge allowed the trial to continue, but said he would decide whether to declare a mistrial after the jury made its decision. "The university is pleased that the NCAA assumed responsibility to help resolve the difficult situation that had developed around changes in its procedural rules," Lou Peterson, the university's lead counsel in the case, said in a statement. The NCAA said it decided to settle because it was restricted on how much it could explain the bylaws change to the jury.
"The settlement in this case is the result of restrictions placed on the NCAA by the court about how the association could explain the bylaw and defend its rightful interpretation," according to the statement by NCAA president Myles Brand. "I have complete confidence that the NCAA enforcement staff acted properly and in compliance with NCAA bylaws with regard to Mr. Neuheisel's interviews. Even so, an independent examination of procedures and processes employed by the national office staff to implement NCAA bylaws will be expanded to review this specific instance."