COLLEGE FOOTBALL

• Rodriguez pays $4 million settlement to West Va.

  
  

  Clarksburg, WV (Sports Network) - Former West Virginia football coach Rich Rodriguez has agreed to pay a $4 million buyout clause after breaking his contract, it was announced on Wednesday.

  Rodriguez had filed for a $1.5 million letter of credit, acknowledging that was the maximum that he owed the university after leaving for Michigan, where he was introduced on Dec. 17 as he replaced the retiring Lloyd Carr.

  The $4 million agreement settles West Virginia's lawsuit against Rodriguez that was set to go to trial in the fall. The deal was approved by the WVU board of governors on Wednesday.

  "We felt from the beginning that we had a solid and valid contract that all parties understood and agreed to, including the liquidated damages clause," West Virginia president Mike Garrison said. "From the outset of this matter, we believed it was very important to protect the financial interests of our great university." Rodriguez has agreed to pay $1.5 million, in three annual payments of $500,000 starting in January 2010. Michigan will pick up the other $2.5 million in a lump sum payment by the end of this month.

  Michigan has also agreed to pay Rodriguez's attorney fees for the dispute.

  During his tenure at WVU, Rodriguez went 60-26, and that includes three straight 10-win seasons, and two BCS bowl trips.

  07/09 14:02:39 ET