Pitt was able to resolve its contract dispute with former head men’s basketball coach Kevin Stallings, according to a report from Craig Meyer of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
Details about the resolution were not provided by the university, which only stated that the matter had been concluded, offering no additional clarification.
Stallings was fired on March 8 after leading the Panthers to an 8-24 regular-season record that included a 0-18 conference mark. Overall, the coach went 24-41 at Pitt, with a woeful 4-32 record in the ACC over two seasons. Under his stewardship, the Petersen Events Center saw record-low attendance as the struggling Panthers lost a program-record 19 straight games.
The former Vanderbilt coach’s contract was intended to last six years, and his buyout was reportedly valued at $9.4 million. However, his tenure was cut short by Pitt athletic director Heather Lyke, who sought to fire him for cause due to an incident in which he responded to a heckler in Louisville by shouting into the stands, “At least we didn’t pay our kids $100,000.”
His comments came during a 77-51 loss to Louisville on Jan. 2, and it was later reported that they prompted Lyke to create a file on Stallings tracking similar incidents and additional displays of unprofessional behavior that could later be utilized in an effort to fire him for cause.
News of the dispute’s resolution broke on the same day Pitt hired longtime Duke assistant Jeff Capel to replace the coach, leaving no remaining loose ends from the Stallings era.
