A state court judge in Louisiana has ruled that Louisanna State University (LSU) must pay a former assistant football coach the rest of his contract, concluding that the school did not have sufficient cause for terminating his contract in 2021.
Plaintiff James Cregg, who was awarded $492,945 at the judgment, was the offensive line coach at LSU from 2018-2020. He was fired because he visited a potential recruit during the Coronavirus dead period established by the NCAA during the pandemic.
By way of background, on March 13, 2020 the NCAA adopted R-2020-1, legislation which established a temporary recruiting dead period effective on said date until at least April 15, 2020. This recruiting dead period was repeatedly extended throughout the pandemic until eventually the NCAA adopted emergency legislation to extend the temporary recruiting dead period in all sports through May 31, 2021.
A NCAA dead period prohibits coaches from contacting recruits and/or their parents in person. However, athletes and coaches can contact recruits via phone, email, social media, and other digital communication channels. Typically, an NCAA dead period is designed to give athletes extra time and breathing room to think and decide which school they want to attend. The Coronavirus dead period aimed to keep coaches and athletes safe during a tenuous and dangerous pandemic. The dead period aimed to limit in-person contact, thus protecting university officials and recruits from the virus.
Cregg admitted to a NCAA enforcement official in May of 2021 that he visited and provided gear to a team prospect during the Covid recruiting dead period.
Then, on June 2, 2021, LSU announced that it had parted ways with Cregg. In a letter from LSU Head Coach Ed Orgeron to Cregg on June 2, Orgeron wrote that Cregg admitted to knowing his conduct was impermissible when he contacted those recruits. Therefore, knowing it was a violation of NCAA rules at the time, Cregg’s conduct allegedly constituted sufficient cause for his dismissal.
Nevertheless, on August 20, 2021, Cregg filed a lawsuit against LSU for breach of contract in Baton Rouge, Louisiana state court.
In the complaint, Cregg alleged: (1) The NCAA has never issued a ruling or decision that he committed any infraction and (2) The NCAA has not declared that Cregg has committed either a Level 1 or Level 2 violation, nor has he repeated any Level 3 or Level 4 violations of the NCAA bylaws. The court, finding these allegations persuasive, sided with Cregg.
LSU has promised to appeal. In a statement, the University said:
“We are clearly disappointed in the court’s ruling. We had a coach admit to the NCAA under oath that he contacted and gave athletic gear to a recruit despite being advised by compliance staff of an existing no-contact period with recruits. We had a contractual right and obligation to terminate this coach’s contract. Unfortunately, the trial court did not see this the same way. We intend to appeal this decision.”
