University of Iowa athletics will repay state $2M for football discrimination settlement

The University of Iowa athletics department will repay $2 million to the state to cover the costs of a recent legal settlement over racial discrimination in the university's football program.

The $4.2 million settlement was announced Monday between 12 Black former football players and the university. As part of the agreement, it was negotiated that the Iowa athletics department would pay $2.175 million of the costs, with the state paying the remaining $2 million.

The agreement drew immediate criticism, with State Auditor Rob Sand, a Democrat, saying he did not support using taxpayer funds for the deal unless Iowa athletics director Gary Barta was ousted.

Republican state Sen. Annette Sweeney called for holding up the Board of Regents budget until Barta resigns or is fired, and State Treasurer Roby Smith, a Republican, said he "would encourage the university to reexamine the relationship" with Barta, offensive coordinator Brian Ferentz and others named in the suit.

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There is no admission of wrongdoing by university officials as part of the settlement agreement. But Damario Solomon-Simmons, a Tulsa-based civil rights attorney who represented the 12 Black ex-players who will receive payouts, said his clients have been “vindicated” by the settlement.

Iowa lawmakers introduced a bill Wednesday requiring athletics departments at the state's regents universities to repay the state for any settlement costs that had not been budgeted for by lawmakers. The bill, House Study Bill 229, would be retroactive, and would cover this week's settlement.

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At a subcommittee meeting on the bill Thursday morning, a lobbyist for the Board of Regents read a statement from University of Iowa President Barbara Wilson saying the athletics department would cover the cost.

"After listening to the concerns of Iowans and in consultation with the Board of Regents leadership, I have determined the University of Iowa Department of Athletics will reimburse the state general fund for the $2 million due to the recent settlement," Wilson said in the statement. "I’m deeply committed to our students’ success and well-being on and off the field of play."

Sand praised Wilson's decision: "I am delighted that she listened to the outcry from taxpayers who wanted real accountability."

More:12 Black Iowa football players 'vindicated' by settlement, lawyer says, blasts Kirk Ferentz

For their part, Republican lawmakers said their bill on the settlement remains active for discussion purposes.

"We are going to continue to move on with this bill for future settlements or lawsuits, continue that conversation, but again I do appreciate the university and their self-evaluation and understanding that taxpayers should not be on the hook for $2 million," said Rep. Carter Nordman, R-Panora.

Wilson has not said whether she will consider removing Barta, as critics have called for. Earlier this week she declined a request from the Des Moines Register to be interviewed about the settlement.

Barta is signed through June 30, 2024, as part of a contract he signed in 2006. The contract stipulates that the university president can fire him for cause without making any additional payments to the athletic director. But if a judge later determined that Wilson didn’t have legal cause to fire Barta, the university would owe him damages equal to two years of his base salary, which would come out to $1.3 million.

Barta would also receive the balance of his deferred compensation, an extra amount that the university has set aside for him every year since he joined the school. His annual deferred compensation grew from $75,000 in 2006 to $400,000 in 2021.

Other measures in the settlement include $90,000 for the former players to earn their graduate degrees; paid mental-health counseling for the next year; and the assistance of Leonard Moore, founder of the National Black Student-Athlete Summit, to assist Iowa’s diversity, equity and inclusion efforts in athletics through at least May of 2024.

Iowa lawmakers have introduced a bill, House File 616, that would require the state's regents universities to disband their diversity, equity and inclusion programs and forbid them from spending any money on DEI offices or administrators.

That bill has advanced through committee but has yet to receive a vote on the House floor.

Sports columnist Chad Leistikow and reporter Tyler Jett contributed to this story.

Stephen Gruber-Miller covers the Iowa Statehouse and politics for the Register. He can be reached by email at sgrubermil@registermedia.com or by phone at 515-284-8169. Follow him on Twitter at @sgrubermiller.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: University of Iowa will reimburse state $2M for football settlement