UVa seeks funds to buy out Groh

CHARLOTTESVILLE — It’s the time of year for charitable giving, and the University of Virginia has an opportunity for you.

The athletic department has quietly been raising funds to pay the estimated $4 million that it will take to run football coach Al Groh out of town.

Groh is currently 3-8 in his ninth season of coaching the Cavaliers, including a loss to William & Mary to open the season. He will almost certainly coach his final game in orange and blue this Saturday against Virginia Tech.

But after receiving an extension at the end of the 2007 season, Groh will have two years remaining on his contract, which pays him about $2 million a year. If he were fired, Groh would be owed the entire amount remaining.

Financially, giving is down across the board this year, but UVa athletics have also been hit by a dramatic drop in football attendance, which is the school’s top money maker.

After selling nearly 60,000 seats per game in 2007, this year’s final number will be 48,407 after adding in Saturday’s sellout. At prices ranging from $23 to $42 over seven games, the school has taken a significant hit.

So while it makes financial sense to fire Groh, that’s not an item that’s accounted for in the department’s yearly budget — hence the University’s fundraising.

Director of Athletics Craig Littlepage declined an interview request from Media General this week, but earlier in the season was quoted as saying that any buyout given to Groh would not affect the department as a whole.

“I think it’s safe to say that you would have philanthropic commitments in place to help handle these sorts of situations,” he told the Roanoke Times.

Obviously that won’t be handled as a high-profile campaign, but rather Littlepage and company approaching top donors to see if they’d contribute.

It’s an experience he’s become all too familiar with recently, after paying men’s basketball coach Dave Leitao the $2.1 million his contract called for if he was fired — even though officially, Leitao resigned.

Interestingly, both Leitao and Groh were named ACC coach of the year in 2007 before beginning their descent.

The choice of a new football coach will also have an impact on the bottom line. If the school chose to go with an FCS coach like Richmond’s Mike London, his yearly salary would probably be lower than Groh’s — previous coaches making the leap have received in the neighborhood of $1.3 million.

But if the Cavs went with a big-name hire like Tommy Tuberville, they’d probably have to pay him at least the $3.3 million he made in his final season at Auburn.

It’s outrageous money, but it’s important for the UVa athletics department as a whole. The money that is brought in strictly from football is $20.2 million annually, according to the school’s report to the Department of Education. That’s more than twice as much as the next-highest sport, basketball.

With that much on the line, the school can claim it’s passing the hat this month for a good cause.

w Phillips is a staff writer for the Richmond Times-Dispatch.