John Kroger (D)
SALEM, Ore. (Legal Newsline)- Oregon Attorney General John Kroger is investigating the $2.3 million severance package for the departing University of Oregon athletic director, the Democrat's office said.
Mike Bellotti, the Oregon Ducks' football coach for 14 seasons, announced March 19 he was stepping down as the university's athletic director after less than a year on the job.
Bellotti is leaving the school to take a job as a college football analyst for ESPN.
Kroger spokesman Tony Green said the attorney general's office is reviewing Bellotti's contract.
"There's really not much that I can say except that the attorney general wants to get as much information on it as he can," Green was quoted by the Eugene (Ore.) Register Guard as saying Monday. "There was enough in the newspapers and on TV and people raising questions about it that it warrants a review. Part of the review is looking at the law."
Bellotti replaced Pat Kilkenny as the University of Oregon's athletic director last July.
The Register Guard reported that the university contends it had no signed agreement with Bellotti on the terms of his employment or departure when he took over as athletic director, yet the university said it will pay him $2.3 million to fulfill unspecified commitments that were never put into a contract.