Rutgers Coach Schiano Focused On Season Despite Contract Talk
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Schiano Says Revelations About
His Contract Are Not Distractions |
Rutgers Univ. (RU) football coach Greg Schiano yesterday said that his "only focus is on the 2008 football season" despite recent revelations "detailing a series of secret deals that enhanced his contract," according to Margolin & Sherman of the Newark STAR-LEDGER. Schiano, who attended yesterday's press conference in N.Y. announcing the rights deal between SportsNet N.Y. and the Big East Conference, said that the "disclosures about his contract with [RU] have not been a distraction." Schiano referred "all contract-related questions to [RU AD] Robert Mulcahy." Meanwhile, RU "refused to release a document spelling out one of several undisclosed changes to Schiano's employment agreement -- allowing the coach to walk away from his contract without penalty if the $102[M] Rutgers football stadium expansion project is not completed" by '09 as scheduled. RU President Richard McCormick Tuesday said that he has "asked his staff to determine exactly how the side-letter agreements were reached and whether that process ought to be changed." McCormick: "There's no reason to think anything was done wrong. But this is an opportunity to say can we do better here" (Newark STAR-LEDGER, 7/24). Meanwhile, New Jersey state Sen. Loretta Weinberg is asking the state to investigate RU's "failure to make public the full terms of employment" that have pushed Schiano's annual compensation to almost $2M. Weinberg: "I do know that when you attempt a 'deal' like this, it's an attempt to hide something at a public university. If you're embarrassed about what you are doing, you shouldn't be doing it" (Bergen RECORD, 7/24).
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