UConn ordered to pay former coach Kevin Ollie $11 million following legal battle

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An arbitrator ruled on Thursday that former UConn men’s basketball head coach Kevin Ollie will be due the remaining $11 million left from his contract with the Huskies — stemming from Ollie’s firing back in March 2018 that raised questions over its reasoning.

UConn had cited "just cause" in terminating Ollie by accusing him of failing to keep the coaching staff in compliance with the NCAA’s recruiting standards. Per the terms of the firing, the university was hoping to clean its hands from having to pay Ollie for the remaining figures of his contract. The accusations were seen as secondary violations, but UConn stuck to the claim and fired Ollie — also inciting a three-year coaching ban by the NCAA.

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FILE - In this Feb. 7, 2018, file photo, Connecticut head coach Kevin Ollie watches from the sideline during the first half an NCAA college basketball game in Storrs, Conn. (AP Photo/Jessica Hill, File)

While the arbitrator did side with UConn’s "just cause" label, the official statement announced that the university had not properly vetted Ollie’s case ahead of a 16-month investigation by the NCAA and prematurely fired the coach before assessing the findings.

Ollie first started as the assistant coach under 26-year head coach Jim Calhoun and became his successor in 2012. Ollie led a seventh-seeded UConn Huskies team in 2014 to the school’s fourth national championship against John Calipari’s Kentucky Wildcats.

The legal battle between Ollie and UConn has stretched out for four years, following a 2017-18 campaign that ended in the team’s consecutive losing season. The Huskies went 14-18 in his