The University of Kentucky Athletics
Association says former Kentucky basketball coach Billy Gillispie
has sued the wrong people and in the wrong place.
The athletics association has asked a federal judge in Texas to
either dismiss Gillispie's lawsuit over his firing or move the case
to Kentucky. In a motion filed Friday in federal court, the
association's attorneys say the school has minimum contact with the
state of Texas, giving the court there no jurisdiction to hear
Gillispie's claims.
The association's attorneys also claim the University of
Kentucky, not the athletics association, hired Gillispie and paid
him.
Gillispie sued the University of Kentucky Athletics Association
in federal court in Dallas on May 27, claiming fraud and breach of
contract. Gillispie claims the school never intended to sign him to
long-term deal. The school has denied the allegations. He is
seeking at least $6 million - about $1.5 million per year for four
of the five years he says were left on his agreement.
Gillispie's attorney, Demetrios Anaipakos of Houston, did not
immediately return a message seeking comment Monday.
A day after Gillispie sued the athletics association, the
University of Kentucky sued Gillispie in state court in Kentucky.
The university wants the court to rule that the two-page memorandum
of understanding Gillispie signed after his hiring in 2007 was not
the equivalent of a full contract.
Gillispie went 40-27 in two seasons with the Wildcats, including
a 22-14 mark last season that tied for the second-most losses in
the program's 106-year history. A stumble down the stretch left the
Wildcats out of the NCAA tournament for the first time since 1991.
His one-page termination letter concluded Gillispie was not a
"good fit" for the school, and it specifically cited his failure
to agree on a full employment contract.