Mississippi pays $4.35 million lump sum to Nutt

OXFORD, Miss. (AP) - Mississippi has agreed to pay former coach Houston Nutt a lump sum of $4.35 million to complete his contract buyout.

Nutt was fired after the 2011 season with about $6 million remaining on his contract. Ole Miss athletic director Ross Bjork said on Saturday in a statement that the school's agreement with Nutt happened last month, and the one-time payment would save the athletic department about $550,000.

Bjork said the agreement was a "win-win for everyone and both of us can now move ahead.'' He said the money came from the school's private athletic foundation.

Nutt coached for four seasons at Ole Miss, leading the program to back-to-back Cotton Bowl wins in 2008 and 2009 before slumping to a 2-10 record in his final season.