Associated Press
LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- The University of Kentucky Athletics Association says former Texas A&M and Kentucky basketball coach Billy Gillispie has sued the wrong people and in the wrong place.
The athletics association has asked a federal judge in Texas to either dismiss Gillispie's lawsuit over his firing or move the case to Kentucky. In a motion filed Friday in federal court, the association's attorneys say the school has minimum contact with the state of Texas, giving the court there no jurisdiction to hear Gillispie's claims.
The association's attorneys also claim the University of Kentucky, not the athletics association, hired Gillispie and paid him.
Gillispie sued the University of Kentucky Athletics Association in federal court in Dallas on May 27, claiming fraud and breach of contract. Gillispie claims the school never intended to sign him to long-term deal. The school has denied the allegations. He is seeking at least $6 million -- about $1.5 million per year for four of the five years he says were left on his agreement.
Gillispie's attorney, Demetrios Anaipakos of Houston, said the motion didn't address Gillispie's central complaint, that he agreed to a $6 million contract.
"It doesn't matter if you are in Texas or Kentucky, a deal is a deal," Anaipakos said.
A day after Gillispie sued the athletics association, the University of Kentucky sued Gillispie in state court in Kentucky. The university wants the court to rule that the two-page memorandum of understanding Gillispie signed after his hiring in 2007 was not the equivalent of a full contract.
Gillispie went 40-27 in two seasons with the Wildcats, including a 22-14 mark last season that tied for the second-most losses in the program's 106-year history. A stumble down the stretch left the Wildcats out of the NCAA tournament for the first time since 1991.
His one-page termination letter concluded Gillispie was not a "good fit" for the school, and it specifically cited his failure to agree on a full employment contract.
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Posted by: Ag in sorry a$$ Austin On: 7/24/2009
Comment Title: Miller is a Retard
Hi, Turd Nugget! I have seen you post for about a year and usually I laugh at your comments. I finally thought that you were a teasip but it just didn't feel right. I now know that you have to be a scorned ex-football player who could not cut the mustard. Or, you might have worked at A&M and got canned because you stalked the athletic department staff. You are one wierd dude,tranny or whatever you are.
Posted by: On: 7/1/2009
Comment Title:
Who woke up poor dumb Miller?
Posted by: miller58 On: 7/1/2009
Comment Title: RE: DOCTOR
My personal opinions:_____BCG was fired his second season at Kentucky!_____Let's hope A&M adapts a similar tact with McKinney, RC, and some football players Friend Sherman when he doesn't win his second season?_____Several D1 Coaches are normally fired after their first season each year, now and one D1 coach was fired last year hald way into his first season?_____The string has certainly run out after complete failure already in three signing classes and the upcomming second losing seasons!_____miller58
Posted by: On: 6/30/2009
Comment Title:
"A deal is a deal" apparently only counts if it is to BCG's benefit. How else would he explain agreeing to a new contract with A&M and then running off to Kentucky. Hopefully he won't get a dime out of Kentucky.
Posted by: theDoctor On: 6/30/2009
Comment Title: Don't pay him anything!
He had plenty of time to turn that program around and did not do it. Remember this is the UNIVERSITY OF KENTUCKY and you must win there. You must be in the tournamnet every year and you better be contending if not winning a national title every three years. Gillispie had to have known this going into to that job. Tough!