A provision in football coach Nick Rolovich’s most recent contract could require him to pay the University of Hawaii a $425,004 buyout for his departure to Washington State and, in effect, help pay for his successor.
Rolovich, who accepted a widely reported $3 million annual salary and five-year contract Monday, is scheduled to be formally introduced at a Pullman, Wash., press conference this afternoon.
Under terms of Rolovich’s June 14, 2019 contract, he could terminate the agreement without penalty by giving UH written notice “at least 30 days in advance of termination.”
Without the advance notice, the redacted contract says “Coach shall pay the university as liquidated damages a lump sum amount of coach’s annual base salary within 90 days of the date on which termination occurs.”
According to athletic director David Matlin, Rolovich notified him Monday night that he was accepting the WSU job.
The Cougars officially announced Rolovich’s hiring Tuesday upon his arrival in Pullman, Wash., where he met with his new players.
In 2019 Rolovich was due to receive $600,004, of which $425,004 was listed as base salary and $175,000 was a one-time, lump sum signing and retention bonus.
“Both sides understand the contract,” Matlin said Wednesday, without further comment.
A Washington State spokesman said Rolovich’s buyout from UH was, “covered in the overall compesation package we are offering Nick.”
Had UH terminated Rolovich without cause, the contract said the school would have been responsible for paying the coach’s unpaid base salary or portions of it through 2022.
June Jones had a buyout clause in his contract when he left the Rainbow Warriors for Southern Methodist after the 2008 Sugar Bowl game. Under terms of the contract at the time, UH sought a $400,008 payment, which represented 50% of Jones’ annual salary.
But Jones maintained that he had been released from that obligation earlier by athletic director Herman Frazier before Frazier was fired.
After more than 10 months of negotiations and arbitration, UH announced the June Jones Foundation donated $100,010 to the Na Lei O’iwi Scholarship Fund and UH said an anonymous donor contributed another $100,000 to the school.
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