The University of Colorado has agreed to pay former women's basketball coach Kathy McConnell-Miller an additional $371,280.52. A final settlement agreement was signed Feb. 15, giving CU 10 business days to make the payment.
McConnell-Miller, who was fired a year ago after five seasons with the Buffaloes, had already been paid $203,142 by the school in the wake of her termination. As coach, she was paid roughly $385,000 in base salary, incentives and other compensation, while compiling a 65-88 record at Colorado. Her teams never played in an NCAA tournament.
Around the time of McConnell-Miller's termination, CU settled a lawsuit with a former player who claimed the coach had promised her a scholarship. The player, RyAnne Ridge, left the program after playing in only seven games as a walk-on.
According to the Boulder Daily Camera, McConnell-Miller's claim to the additional settlement money stems from a Title IX allegation that the women's basketball program wasn't treated the same by the university as the men's program.
A joint statement issued Friday by McConnell-Miller and the university read, "The University of Colorado, Department of Athletics has agreed to pay former head women's basketball coach Kathy McConnell-Miller the amount of $371,280 in final compensation. The University and Coach McConnell-Miller had initially disagreed about the amounts of compensation owed under her contract for employment, but were able to amicably resolve their differences. The parties have agreed not to further discuss their agreement."
It's been an expensive academic year for the Colorado athletic department, which last fall agreed to buy out the contract of then head football coach Dan Hawkins for $2.1 million.
