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Separation Agreement With UGA
Will Pay Evans About $237,500 |
A Univ. of Georgia Athletic Association committee accepted AD Damon Evans' resignation Monday, "four days after a Georgia State Patrol arrest during which Evans reminded the trooper about the powerful job he held," according to Lee Shearer of the ATHENS BANNER-HERALD. The UGA Athletic Association's Exec Committee "voted unanimously to approve the terms of Evans' departure after a 15-minute meeting Monday morning held by teleconference and closed to the public and media." The separation agreement approved by the committee "includes a severance deal that will pay Evans about $237,500 -- a $100,000 longevity bonus after his six-year stint as athletic director, plus three months' salary." When the trooper "smelled alcohol and Evans failed a series of field sobriety tests, the trooper charged Evans with driving under the influence of alcohol." Evans during the arrest "mentioned several times that he was the UGA athletic director, and asked the trooper if there was any way he could avoid being arrested." Evans, 40, was "one of the youngest athletic directors in the nation when he took over in 2004 from longtime" AD Vince Dooley (ATHENS BANNER-HERALD, 7/6).
THE FINE PRINT: The ATHENS BANNER-HERALD's Shearer noted Evans was a UGA employee, but his contract was "between him and the athletic association, whose board approves contracts for the association's top employees." Evans' five-year contract, which was approved in February, calls for him to "act at all times in a manner consistent with good sportsmanship and with the appropriate moral, ethical and academic standards of the university." The contract states that Evans "can be fired if he fails to correct lapses in carrying out his duties after written notice from the UGA president notifying him of such shortcomings." Language in the contract also "spells out that Evans can be fired if he is convicted of a felony crime or a crime of moral turpitude" (ATHENS BANNER-HERALD, 7/5). In Atlanta, Tim Tucker noted "within minutes of Monday's conference call, Evans' name had been removed from the staff directory on the UGA athletics website." In its place, the "acronym 'TBA' -- To Be Announced -- was placed beside the position" of AD (AJC.com, 7/6).
TEMPORARY SITUATION: In Athens, Marc Weiszer notes UGA Associate AD & CFO Frank Crumley spoke with the school's head coaches and senior administrators "for the first time Tuesday afternoon as the school's interim athletic director." Crumley said, "I'm proud to do what I can for Georgia, but I'm not excited in the circumstances of being the interim. I'm not." UGA President Michael Adams yesterday said his "first look is outside" the UGA athletic department in hiring the school's next AD (ATHENS BANNER-HERALD, 7/7). Adams said that the search for a new AD "could last as long as six to 12 months" (AJC.com, 7/6).
