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Permanent disability could void Hoeppner's contract
Indiana football coach, who has had two brain surgeries, hasn't been in public since February.
Friday, June 08, 2007
INDIANAPOLIS — Terry Hoeppner's contract with Indiana University could be voided if a doctor determines the Hoosiers' ailing football coach is permanently disabled.
The contract, obtained by The Associated Press under a Freedom of Information request, does not specify a timetable for making such a decision.
Extras
Hoeppner, the former Miami University coach who turns 60 in August, has undergone two brain surgeries since December 2005 and is on his third medical leave from the team. His latest absence, which began in mid-March, is the longest of the three. Hoeppner, who regularly plays golf at fundraisers in the spring and likes to recruit, has not been seen publicly since February.
Athletic Director Rick Greenspan recently expressed concern about the prolonged absence of Hoeppner, who was Miami University's head coach from 1999-2004 and guided the RedHawks to a 13-1 record and a No. 10 national ranking in 2003.
A clause allows Hoeppner's contract, which runs through June 2012, to be terminated for either physical or mental disabilities. University spokesman Larry MacIntyre said Thursday that Greenspan would have to initiate the process.
Athletic department officials and others are closely guarding the nature of Hoeppner's illness and prognosis, citing federal privacy laws, despite the third-year coach being one of the state's highest-paid employees at more than $550,000 annually.
Trustees have not received regular updates on Hoeppner's condition. "The only discussion that's taken place that I've been involved in is that Terry Hoeppner plans on coaching this fall, but that was a while ago," trustees President Stephen Ferguson said. "Terry, as is his right, has kept all that information to himself."
Hoeppner's absence has the university in a tough position.
The coach has missed spring practice, a move he said in March would help him regain his energy and strength.
In a statement issued in May, Hoeppner said he continued to receive treatment and remained "inspired to return to coaching when my health permits."
Keeping Hoeppner as coach without knowing when or if he will return to the sideline could hurt recruiting, while letting him go could hurt the image of a school that ranked near the bottom of the Big Ten in attendance before Hoeppner's arrival.
