Ex-Ohio football coach Brian Smith sues Bobcats for wrongful termination
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Former Ohio University football coach Brian Smith is suing the university for wrongful termination, arguing he was fired in December without a fair investigation after having an extramarital relationship with an undergraduate student.
According to The Columbus Dispatch, part of the USA TODAY Network, Smith filed the lawsuit on Friday, May 8 in the Ohio Court of Claims. The lawsuit seeks damages equal to the remainder of Smith’s terminated contract with the Bobcats, along with interest and attorneys’ fees.
In a statement from Smith’s attorney, Rex Elliott, that was obtained by Te Dispatch, the complaint alleges that the university rushed to judgment, failed to conduct a meaningful investigation and ignored contractual protections.
“This case is about accountability,” Elliott said in the statement. “OU’s actions have irreparably harmed Coach Smith’s coaching career, and he is owed the full balance of his contractually agreed-upon compensation.”
Smith was fired with cause by Ohio on Wednesday, Dec. 17. He had been placed on leave on Monday, Dec. 1 after the university disclosed he violated the terms of his employment agreement by engaging in serious professional misconduct and participating in activities that reflect unfavorably on the University.”
In a letter from university president Lori Stewart Gonzalez on Friday, Dec. 12, Smith was accused of carrying on a relationship with the student on campus at the Ohio University Inn and had participated in a public appearance where he smelled strongly of alcohol and appeared intoxicated.
The Dispatch noted Smith told Ohio administrators that he stored alcohol in his office desk drawer and that assistant coaches would occasionally join him for a single drink of bourbon in his office after games.
In a letter to Gonzalez, Elliott wrote that Smith had been living at the Ohio University Inn as he was looking for a place to live following his divorce. It also noted that divorce proceedings were already underway by the time Smith got into a relationship with a student, who he did not know was a student at Ohio when they met. Smith ended his relationship with the student in November.
Smith was elevated to head coach at Ohio after the 2024 season, when then-Bobcats coach Tim Albin left for the same position at Charlotte. In his lone season with the Bobcats, the program went 8-4 overall and made the Frisco Bowl, to which they beat UNLV 17-10.
The Bobcats hired interim coach John Hauser as the program’s full-time coach and Smith’s successor on Friday, Dec. 26.
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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Former Ohio coach Brian Smith sues Bobcats for wrongful termination
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