Kansas ended a prolonged contract settlement dispute with former football coach David Beaty by reaching a $2.55 million financial settlement, the school announced Friday.
Beaty was owed $3 million when the Jayhawks fired him in November 2018. His Kansas teams went 6-42 in four seasons.
"Despite the settlement, the University maintains the facts and principles behind its position remain intact," Kansas said in a statement. "For the betterment of KU, and driven by a willingness to move forward during a time of uncertainty in college athletics, the University has now put this matter behind us."
The university said the money paid to Beaty would come from the original amount placed in escrow during the 2018-19 fiscal year following Beaty's firing.
Beaty sued the university's athletic department in federal court in March 2019, claiming Jayhawks officials launched an NCAA inquiry to avoid paying him a $3 million buyout he was owed for the final three years of his contract.
When Kansas athletic director Jeff Long fired Beaty, he said Beaty was being fired without cause and the school owed him $3 million.
But in private meetings following Beaty's dismissal, according to the lawsuit, Kansas officials "unabashedly raised the need to 'find something' on Coach Beaty such as finding a 'dead hooker in [Coach Beaty's] closet.'"
"Despite the clarity of the contractual language and the nature of Coach Beaty's termination without cause, Kansas Athletics officials began seeking avenues by which it could forgo the money owed to Coach Beaty or otherwise secure leverage by which it might negotiate a lesser amount," the lawsuit said.
According to the lawsuit, Kansas officials notified the NCAA about the alleged misconduct of one of Beaty's assistants. The lawsuit said the alleged conduct "occurred, if at all, a year or more earlier."
The NCAA has charged the Jayhawks with two Level II violations and one Level III violation related to the football program under Beaty.