He’s leaving Oregon. That much is official – the folks at the Eugene Register-Guard came up with that nugget earlier today, and you can read it here.
What now? He’s mulling his options. He told me tonight that he is taking a couple of weeks to think things over, and he’ll be back in Wichita June 8. Expect something concrete from him then, if not before. But he seemed at peace with everything, eager to start looking ahead.
More as this develops…
Bad effort by me with this here blog lately, but that should be fixed in the coming days. And not to send precious traffic elsewhere, but our friends at “Bring on the Cats” – if you don’t have it as one of your Kansas State links, shame on you – have sent along this tidy and helpful guide to all things H-town should you find yourselves following the Bat Cats this weekend.
Enjoy.
Here’s a story. Much, much more coming later, possibly tonight but definitely tomorrow.
Quick take – as sad as it sounds, I do think Krause did this on his own. I’ll explain more tomorrow in another post. By the way, that would make three days in a row, which means I’m due for at least another couple of weeks off.
Just kidding.
Sources tell me that Kansas State will announce today that former athletic director Bob Krause will no longer be working at the university, banished from his post as overseer of the Olathe Innovation campus. Why? Seems that $1.2 million buyout he gave to Ron Prince was actually a little – no, A LOT – low, and it was apparently done without Jon Wefald’s knowledge.
I’ve also been told the university is going to try to legally fight the deal.
I submitted open records requests for settlements, additional contracts and anything signed between Krause and Prince yesterday; K-State has three days to respond, essentially saying they received the requests, and I hadn’t heard back as of this morning. I tried calling Krause all day Monday, but he didn’t answer. Prince’s agent, Neil Cornrich, did not return calls or an e-mail seeking confirmation and clarification.
I don’t want to deal in absolutes here because, well, I can’t control what K-State is going to do. It’s possible the administration could choose to delay such a release. But when the buyout number is released – and my sources tell me it will be today – it should be staggering to most.
Let me establish this immediately – I like the hire of John Currie as Kansas State’s next athletic director. That said, I believe he has an incredibly difficult job ahead of him, but he’s too smart not to realize that.
Anyway, I couldn’t help but think about Ron Prince during Monday’s introductory festivities.
Here’s what I wrote Dec. 6, 2005:
Art Alvarez answered the phone Thursday, even though he was already on the other line.
The caller? Florida coach Billy Donovan.
The presumed subject? Freddy Asprilla, a 6-foot-10 center who was the Sun Belt Freshman of the Year in March after averaging 14 points and 9.3 rebounds at Florida International.
Because FIU fired Sergio Ruoco – who was the reason Asprilla, who originally committed to Miami but didn’t have a sufficient SAT score, attended the school in the first place – the center is looking for a new home.
“Everybody in America has inquired about him,” Alvarez said.