Last updated on 10/30/2018
10/30/2018 update: I’ve always had a soft spot for Kelly, because he had the sense of humor to hide his $25K payoff to Willie Lyles where no reasonable person would ever have found it – in the UO libraries financial accounts:
Unfortunately for Kelly, sports reporters are not reasonable people. Kelly will be back in Eugene this Saturday for some sort of football event, and presumably UO’s General Counsel Kevin Reed will be waiting with a overdue notice:
10/12/2015: Can Chip Kelly return to the PAC-12 w/o repaying Ducks for $20K fine?
10/12/2015: I’ve got no idea, but the sportswriters are starting to ask questions.
8/10/2013: UO tried to fine Chip Kelly $20K, but he skipped town – from a Paul Swangard tweet
From the NCAA report, here. Kelly’s contract included the clause below, but apparently he quit before UO could collect. Really. Randy Geller didn’t make any follow up efforts? Apparently not:
Contract here:
The funny part is I learned this from a Paul Swangard tweet:
Swangard is the director of UO’s Warsaw Sports Marketing program, and he’s now blocked me from his twitter feed. Let’s find out what’s going on here:
Dear Ms Thornton:
This is a public records request for any documents showing efforts by UO to collect funds from Coach Chip Kelly related to
a) the “Termination by Kelly” clause requiring liquidated damages payments if Kelly left before the end of his contract term, and
b) the “Discipline” clause allowing UO to fine Kelly for, among other things, NCAA violations.
I’m ccing UO GC Randy Geller, AD Rob Mullens, AAD Eric Roedl, FAR Jim O’Fallon, and a few others who may have information and documents, in the hope this will reduce the time you need to spend looking for these documents.
I ask for a fee waiver on the basis of the public funds involved, the general public interest in the UO AD’s affairs, and the ability of the UO Matters blog to ensure these documents are quickly and efficiently distributed to other news media and the public.
“No responsive documents”. More here.
Kind of hard to fine an employee who no longer is.
When faculty take a sabbatical we promise to come back and teach for at least a year afterward, or repay the sabbatical salary.
Sometimes people don’t come back – and you can bet UO comes after them for that money!
Faculty sign an agreement, a contract, agreeing to pay certain penalties for actions taken during their employment.
Did he have such a provision in his contract to pay a fine even after he has left UO employment? I don’t see it there.
Good Q – lets see what the PR request shows.
At a certain level of wealth and power, rules that apply to most people become fluid, in one way or another.
It would be interesting to know who was running Chip’s business and how they made sure that everything was done appropriately and timed right before he skipped out without losing anything. Not that he would feel any penalty the university could possibly come up with. And not that it’s possible to know what really happens behind all that money and power and lawyer-smoke.
Regarding fluid levels of wealth and power… good point. This is why I suspect we won’t see, in the end, some of the most “influential” people on the new governing board. Their influence will still be complete while the dumbed-down think it’s a score for some sort of real academic independence.
All too true.
This doesn’t sound as bad as Grier and Bellotti, but you’d think the Ducks would have learned by now!
UO sends bill collectors after students when they are in arrears, but not for Chipper?
Take it out of his PERS.
Unlikely he’s in PERS, maybe the ORP. OUS also writes special retirement plans for these big guys, since IRS rules now prohibit contributions into regular plans for salaries above ~$250K. Nobody will ever get another deal like Mr. and Mrs. Bellotti!