UW terminates football coach Rick Neuheisel

The contract of University of Washington football coach Rick Neuheisel has been terminated following an investigation into his admitted participation in a high-stakes college basketball betting pool, UW athletic director Barbara Hedges announced today.

However, under the terms of Neuheisel's contract he has been suspended with pay while the University follows through with the termination process. Section 8 of the contract reads that he is being fired for just cause, which is defined as "serious acts of misconduct, conduct which is seriously and materially prejudicial to the best interest of the University, and violations of NCAA bylaws."

The announcement comes a week after Neuheisel acknowledged taking part in the men's NCAA tournament pool the past two years. NCAA bylaw 10.3 clearly states that staff members of an athletic department shall not knowingly participate in any gambling activity that involves intercollegiate athletics.

"Rick is ultimately responsible for knowing and abiding by those rules," said Hedges. "His admitted gambling showed poor judgment, which I felt was grounds for termination."

Hedges also said Neuheisel had been "untruthful" to her on several occasions, most recently in lying about his interviewing for the San Francisco 49ers head coaching position in February.

Neuheisel wasn't present at the announcement, but has until June 26 to respond to the notice of termination. If he can convince investigators that a memo from UW director of compliance Dana Richardson gave him permission to participate in the pools, he would not be forced to pay back a $1.5 million loan he received from the University. But should the firing for just cause hold up, he must repay the loan.

Whether or not Neuheisel intends to appeal the decision was unclear, Hedges said, but the UW is fully prepared to tackle whatever litigation may come its way in the coming weeks. An appeal would go directly to Hedges, whose decision could then be appealed to the special assistant to the president.

Neuheisel was named Washington's head coach on Jan. 11, 1999. Since then, it has been a roller-coaster career for the former Rose Bowl MVP. Hedges said the hiring of Neuheisel was the right thing for the University at the time, as was the decision to fire him.

"This has been a very difficult period involving a highly visible employee," she said. "It's extremely painful to have to make this kind of decision about people you truly admire."

There is no word on who will replace Neuheisel, but UW offensive coordinator Keith Gilbertson's name has surfaced as the leading candidate. The Huskies are set to begin fall camp in less than a month and begin their season August 30 at Ohio State.