Bowden gets $620,000, house, cars
Ex-coach can't criticize Auburn in settlement with school
Posted: Wednesday February 03, 1999 10:50 AM
| |
Bowden could be forced to repay the settlement if he criticizes Auburn Peter J. Taylor/Allsport |
AUBURN, Ala. (AP) -- Terry Bowden and his wife are barred from criticizing Auburn under a settlement that provides them with $620,000, a lakeside home for five years and the two cars the ex-coach had before he quit in mid-season last year.
The Birmingham News reported Wednesday that under the deal, Bowden and wife Shyrl agreed not to make "statements that could be construed as negative or derogatory toward Auburn."
If they violate the agreement, they may be required to repay the $620,000, pay the $850,000 mortgage on the house, which is owned by the Auburn Alumni Association, and give back the cars, which he can keep for three years.
Under the settlement, Bowden can work as a television analyst on a contract basis. But he would have 30 days to move out of the home if he accepts a full-time job in athletics, including full-time work as a print or broadcast analyst or commentator.
Auburn athletic director David Housel said the provision to keep the Bowdens quiet about the university "wasn't a big thing to me personally, but both lawyers strongly recommend it be in there."
The $620,000 payment, which may be spread over three years, represents the remaining four years of Bowden's $155,000 annual base salary.
"Six hundred thousand dollars is a lot of money, especially for someone who resigns," said Housel. "It takes on a different focus, however, if you consider that coach Bowden's total income was approximately $1 million a year."
The Bowdens' deal with the university took effect Monday, the same day new coach Tommy Tuberville signed a contract with the school worth at least $770,000 annually.
Tuberville's deal includes an annual, one-year rollover that means he always has at least five years on his contract. Tuberville will owe the school $500,000 if he leaves while the contract is in force.
Bowden, who won his first 20 games after taking the reins at Auburn in 1993, stunned Auburn football fans by resigning at mid-season, the day before a game, after the Tigers started the season with a 1-5 record. He has said that he was "fired," but Housel and other university officials have said he was not forced to resign.
Copyright 2003 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
| 
