Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, April 8, 1990 TAG: 9004090100
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B2 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: RALEIGH, N.C. LENGTH: Medium
Supporters and officials echoed the optimism Valvano displayed Saturday after he agreed to leave and not sue the school in exchange for $238,000. Valvano also stands to be paid $375,000 by the university's booster club, one of his attorneys said.
"It's just the passing of a baton," Charlie Bryant, executive director of the Wolfpack Club booster organization, said Sunday.
"Losing Jim is a big loss. However, we have a lot of tradition here. It might have a temporary setback, but . . . we will continue to have a tremendous program."
The school faces not only the task of hiring a new coach, but must first choose an athletic director - a position Valvano gave up in August after the program first came under fire.
"This is a very critical and difficult time for us," said William Burns Jr., co-vice chairman of the N.C. State Board of Trustees. "But I think the university is strong enough. I don't see any problem getting good people to fill these positions."
Mentioned as a possible successor was East Tennessee coach Les Robinson, a former N.C. State basketball player.
Valvano had been under pressure to resign since reports in February that former players had accepted cash and shaved points. Valvano never was implicated in the allegations. The program is under a two-year probation imposed in December by the NCAA.
Valvano was not available for comment Sunday, said Woody Webb, a Raleigh attorney who represented the coach in negotiations.
George Worsley, N.C. State's finance officer, said Sunday that Valvano's money would come from athletic department reserves generated by ticket sales, concerts and television appearances. He said no taxpayer money was involved.
The agreement on a monetary figure came after negotiations over a $500,000 buyout clause in Valvano's contract.
Bryant said the Wolfpack Club would live up to its obligation to pay Valvano, but he would not specify the amount the group owed the coach. He said the club's directors would meet this week to discuss the payment.
Webb said a contract with the Wolfpack Club called for Valvano to be given a $250,000 annuity. Valvano also is to receive $125,000 under a "lost revenue" provision activated if the coach was fired "without cause," Webb said.
The agreement signed by both sides Saturday specified that the contract was ended without cause.
Webb said that in the final negotiating stages Friday, attorneys representing the school did not refer to their earlier contention that Valvano had failed to ensure the academic progress of his athletes. The N.C. State attorneys instead referred to a provision in Valvano's contract that called for him to supervise his staff, ensuring that they comply with NCAA regulations.
It was the dust cover of the book "Personal Fouls" in January 1989 that sparked an investigation, which eventually landed N.C. State on an NCAA two-year probation, and, finally, to the buyout of Valvano's contract.
"He's part of a system where there's a tremendous attraction to do whatever you can do to bring in as much money as you can bring in," said Peter Golenbock, the author of the book that published allegations of wrongdoings in the Wolfpack basketball program.
As interim university chancellor Larry Monteith read his statement Saturday, supporters gathered around a radio to hear that the man they'd come to support was being asked to leave. Outside the lobby, Wolfpack guard Chris Corchiani reiterated what he said after the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament - that if Valvano left, he would leave, too.
"I'm looking at my options," he said. "It won't be here."
Corchiani is also bothered about how Valvano was treated.
"It's very disappointing to have gone through this for 16 months and it's been carried out and dragged through the mud. Just to see how unfairly Coach Valvano has been treated, it really hurts you," Corchiani said. "To see something like this happen, and the way the administration has handled it, it's really a disgrace."
by CNB