Why NCAA expert says University of Tennessee, former Vols AD John Currie will reach settlement

More than three months after being ousted from his role as Tennessee’s athletic director, John Currie remains suspended with pay while the university works toward a resolution.

University spokesman Ryan Robinson confirmed that Currie continues to be paid under the terms of his contract.

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Robinson said there has been no change in Currie’s status since Chancellor Beverly Davenport wrote in a Dec. 1 letter to Currie’s replacement, Phillip Fulmer, that Currie was being placed on paid suspension “pending an investigation or decision relating to termination” of Currie’s employment for cause.

Asked about Currie's ongoing situation, Fulmer said: "That was before me, and that's something I can't concern myself with."

How will it end?

The most likely resolution, according to one national expert on NCAA matters, is that Currie and UT will reach a settlement that would amount to less than the buyout Currie would be owed if he were to be fired without cause.

B. David Ridpath, an associate professor of sports administration at Ohio University and a former athletic department administrator, expects such a deal would include neutral or positive references for Currie from UT.

“I think that they’re going to come to a mutual agreement where probably John Currie won’t get everything he wants and the university won’t get everything they want,” Ridpath said. “I don’t think the university probably has enough to fire him for cause.”

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Currie's salary is $900,000. His contract runs through June 30, 2022 and calls for him to receive a $25,000 raise on July 1 on each remaining year of the contract.

In a bit of contract wizardry on Currie’s end, he would be owed more money if UT fired him without cause than he’s earning under paid suspension. His buyout calls for him to be paid $100,000 a month — a rate of $1.2 million annually — if he’s terminated without cause. He’s earning $75,000 a month while on paid suspension.

He’d be owed a buyout of $5.2 million if he were fired without cause. By comparison, if he remained on paid suspension throughout the remainder of his contract, he’d net $4.15 million.

If he’s fired without cause, his contract requires him to seek new employment to mitigate UT’s damages. He’s under no such requirement while suspended.

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Although Currie earned $75,000 less the past three months on paid suspension than he would have if he had been fired without cause, Ridpath said he thinks that’s more of a fortunate quirk for UT than a motivating factor. He added that it “would be absolutely shocking” for Currie to remain suspended with pay for the remainder of his contract.

More: John Currie out as AD, Phillip Fulmer takes charge

“I have to think that both sides are working on an exit strategy,” Ridpath said. “John Currie is going to want to work again.”

Ridpath said he expects a resolution within a few months.

“(Tennessee wants) to end this as soon as possible, because it’s just kind of an albatross hanging over them,” he added.

And, as for Currie’s future?

“He’s still pretty well-respected around college athletics,” Ridpath said. “I think he’s somebody that schools would definitely think about hiring.”

What led to Currie’s ouster

Davenport announced on Dec. 1 she’d removed Currie from his post and replaced him with Fulmer, ending Currie’s eight-month rein as AD.

Currie’s tenure was undone by a chaotic football coaching search after he fired Butch Jones on Nov. 12.

Tennessee was nearing a deal with Ohio State defensive coordinator Greg Schiano on Nov. 26. Currie and Schiano signed a memorandum of understanding that would have given Schiano a six-year deal, but Davenport and UT’s Chief Financial Officer David L. Miller never signed the document.

News of the impending hire leaked, and it was met with a wave of backlash from some fans, donors and politicians who said they were uncomfortable with Schiano’s past at Penn State.

Schiano was an assistant at Penn State from 1990-95. Jerry Sandusky was Penn State’s defensive coordinator during that time. Sandusky was convicted in 2012 of 45 counts of sexual abuse of boys.

Former Penn State staffer Mike McQueary testified that fellow assistant Tom Bradley told McQueary that Schiano was aware of a child sexual abuse incident by Sandusky.

More: Testimony: Greg Schiano, Tom Bradley knew of Sandusky abuse at Penn State

Schiano and Bradley denied having knowledge or witnessing any of Sandusky's abuse. McQueary's hearsay claim remains unsubstantiated.

Tennessee’s deal with Schiano unraveled. The following day, Currie said in a statement that he "carefully interviewed and vetted" Schiano, including his Penn State background, and that Schiano "received the highest recommendations."

Also that day, Davenport released a statement saying she deeply regretted "the events of (Nov. 26) for everyone involved," adding that Currie would continue the search.

“It backfired, but I don’t think (Currie) going after Greg Schiano … would show malfeasance or something that would rise to the level of being fired with cause, or else I think they would have done it already,” Ridpath said. “I think it would be a very tough case to make.

“Maybe Greg Schiano wasn’t the best choice, but I think most people in athletics would tell you that he was at the top of many lists, and Penn State was not something most athletic directors were thinking of.”

The public unraveling of the Schiano deal made Currie’s task of replacing Jones more challenging.

In the days that followed, the rejections piled up.

More: UT Vols football: A timeline of Tennessee's coaching search

Currie’s final act in the search was meeting with Washington State coach Mike Leach.

When Davenport announced she was pulling Currie off the job, she said there was no single event that led to her decision.

Fulmer took over the search on Dec. 1 and hired Alabama defensive coordinator Jeremy Pruitt on Dec. 7.