Oregon State University has filed a lawsuit against its former athletic director.
The public university in Corvallis is suing Todd Stansbury for breaching his contract and failing to pay his buyout, according to Oregon Live.
“The decision to file this legal [complaint] was made by university leadership,” Oregon State’s vice president of university relations and marketing Steve Clark said in an email, according to Orange Media Network. “As a state university, we feel that it is important to conclude the contractual obligations OSU and Todd Stansbury agreed to upon his joining Oregon State University.”
Stansbury, who is currently the Georgia Tech athletic director, originally signed a contract to be the Oregon State athletic director from July 31, 2015 through June 30, 2020. He stuck around less than two years, terminating his contract on Dec. 4, 2016. Scott Barnes took over the athletic director role, a position he still holds.
Stansbury’s breach of contract required him to pay $2,107,778 in liquidated damages of his base salary until his contract was scheduled to expire. Stansbury paid the university $620,000 between October 2017 and July 2019, leaving him with a $1,513,262.97 balance, including $41,374.19 in interest fees.
The legal action was filed in Benton County Circuit Court on Dec. 18, months after a letter written by Oregon State’s attorney, Miller Nash Graham & Dunn LLP, informed Stansbury’s attorney Scott Zolke of the university’s demand that “Mr. Stansbury pay all past due amounts owing in full on or before June 15, 2019… failure to make such a payment will result in legal action against Mr. Stansbury.”
