Penn State Seeks $900K from Former Football Assistant

WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. — Penn State is seeking almost $900,000 from former defensive coordinator Bob Shoop, and the university doesn't expect him to pay up, according to court documents obtained by PennLive.

Shoop left the Nittany Lions in January 2016 to become the defensive coordinator for Tennessee.

A clause in his contract stated if Shoop resigned before his contract expired on Feb. 15, 2018, he had to pay Penn State liquidated damages of 50 percent "of his base pay" for the remainder of his contract, according to the court documents. The contract stated Shoop wouldn't have to pay PSU back, if he became the head coach at another university within one year of the date of his resignation.

The university claims that, with over two years remaining on his contract when Shoop resigned, he owes $891,856, the court records state.

According to the documents, Penn State requested, in writing, that Shoop make the payment required under the contract. The university, in the lawsuit, claims Shoop has not made any payment, and, through counsel, has indicated a refusal to make such a payment.

Penn State filed the breach of contract suit in Centre County court in early June, but Monday had it transferred to U.S. Middle District Court.

According to the contract that was included in the court documents, Shoop received an additional $150,000 on Feb. 15, 2015, and would have gotten similar amounts if still at Penn State on the same dates in 2016 and 2017. He also had the use of a car and cell phone, the contract stated.

Shoop's memorandum of understanding with Tennessee, also among the court documents, lists his base pay as $245,000 and supplemental pay of $905,000. It also states that Shoop "is solely responsible for satisfying any buyout or liquidation damages provision(s) between Coach and Pennsylvania State University and/or other prior institutions."

Then UT athletic director David Hart said in January 2016 that Shoop's decision to keep Tennessee out of the buyout was "a very, very loud statement" about how bad he wanted to be a part of UT's program.

"He was willing to handle that," Hart told GoVols247. "and we were able to move forward then in a very rapid fashion to try to get something, which we were able to do."

Shoop's incentives at UT — which have a cap of $500,000 — are 8.33 percent if the Vols are in a bowl game, 12 percent if they're in a New Year's "Six" game, 16 percent if they're in the college playoff, and 4 percent each if they win SEC or college football championships.

The Lions' defense under Shoop was ranked No. 2 in the country in 2014 and No. 14 in 2015. Co-defensive coordinator Brent Pry replaced Shoop.

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