Oregon State University (OSU) has sued its former athletic director, Todd Stansbury, for breach of contract.
Specifically, OSU alleged in Benton County Circuit Court that when Stansbury signed a five-year contract with the university in June 2015, he was obligated to pay back OSU his base salary for the remaining years of the contract if he left the university to be AD at another school. In 2016, Stansbury became AD at Georgia Tech.
Upon his departure, he owed OSU $2,107,778, according to the complaint.
Accounting for the buyout, Georgia Tech reportedly gave its new AD a $1.1 million loan from the athletic association to help cover his obligations. The loan would be forgiven if Stansbury stayed through his five-year term. Stansbury’s starting salary, reportedly, was also generous at $900,000, an 80 percent raise from his Oregon State salary and $200,000 more than his predecessor at Georgia Tech.
Stansbury allegedly paid approximately $600,000 on the loan before the payments stopped last July, leaving a balance of $1,513,262.97, which includes the original amount owed plus interest, according to the university.
“As a state university, we feel it is important to conclude the contractual obligations Oregon State University and Todd Stansbury agreed to,” OSU spokesman Steve Clark said in a statement.
OSU is being represented by Miller Nash Graham & Dunn LLP.
The university cited section 12.A of Stansbury’s contract, which states, “the promise to work for the University [as athletic director] for the entire term of this agreement is the essence of this agreement… that University’s investment would be lost if athletic director were to resign… before the end of the agreement term,” according to the Employment Agreement for the vice president and athletic director of Intercollegiate Athletics.
