Pitt and former head basketball coach Kevin Stallings have reached a resolution to their dispute over the terms of Stallings’ buyout, according to the school.
Neither Pitt nor Stallings’ attorneys would provide further comment on the nature of the settlement.
Stallings was owed a $9.4 million buyout after being fired following the second season of a six-year contract. After Pitt athletic director Heather Lyke fired Stallings on March 8, the university attempted to negotiate downward the amount that Stallings would be paid by threatening to fire him for cause and withhold his entire buyout.
The university’s claim for cause stemmed from a Jan. 2 incident when Stallings responded to a verbal barb from the crowd in Louisville that “at least we didn’t pay our players $100,000,” referencing the ongoing FBI investigation into that program.
The day after he was fired, Stallings’ attorneys released a statement arguing that Stallings was “due and owed his full contractual buyout.”
The financial fallout from paying Stallings’ buyout didn’t seem to hurt Pitt throughout the search for his replacement. Lyke offered then-Rhode Island coach Dan Hurley $3.5 million over six years.
On Tuesday, Pitt agreed to terms with Duke assistant Jeff Capel to a seven-year contract. The financial details of Capel’s contract are not available.
Pittsburgh Sports Now reported in early March that Stallings will retire rather than pursue further coaching opportunities. Craig Meyer of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette first reported that Stallings and Pitt had settled.
