STORRS, Connecticut — The University of Connecticut said Tuesday that it has complied with the ruling of an arbitrator and paid former men's basketball coach Kevin Ollie for the remainder of his contract, and now considers the matter closed.
The arbitrator in the dispute between the school and its former coach, ruled last week that UConn improperly fired former men’s basketball coach Kevin Ollie and must pay him more than $11 million, Ollie's lawyer said.
Attorney Jacques Parenteau called the decision from arbiter Mark Irvings a “total vindication” for Ollie, who was fired in March 2018 after the school reported numerous NCAA violations in his program.
"The university strongly disagrees with this decision," said UConn spokesperson Stephanie Reitz in a emailed statement. "The university’s primary responsibility with respect to athletic compliance is to protect the integrity of its programs. In light of that, UConn could not have waited 16 months to act on the information and evidence it already had at the time the decision was made to end Ollie’s employment."
"It is unquestionably in the best interest of UConn and its men’s basketball program to move on, and UConn plans no further legal action in this case. UConn considers the matter closed."
In 2019, UConn was placed on probation for two years and Ollie was sanctioned individually for those violations, which occurred between 2013 and 2018.
Ollie, who faced three years of restrictions from the NCAA on becoming a college basketball coach again, is currently coaching for Overtime Elite, a league that prepares top prospects who are not attending college for the pros.
Doug Stewart is a digital content producer at FOX61 News. He can be reached at dstewart@fox61.com.
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