Thad Matta

Jan. 12, 2005

By RUSTY MILLER
AP Sports Writer

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) - Halfway through his first season as Ohio State's head men's basketball coach, Thad Matta is still working without a contract.

Ohio State's legal affairs office confirmed Tuesday that it does not have a signed contract with Matta. Nonetheless, he has already had a year added to what was originally a seven-year agreement with Ohio State.

"It's not like we're having any unusually heated negotiations on issues or anything," said Julie Vannatta, Ohio State's associate legal counsel for athletics. "It's typical."

The Buckeyes are a surprising 12-4 overall and 1-2 in the Big Ten after losing at Wisconsin 72-66 on Tuesday night.

Matta is still being paid under the verbal agreement he reached with athletic director Andy Geiger and Ohio State when he was hired last summer. Vannatta said the two sides are negotiating wording and fine points.

Geiger said he had not spoken to Matta about the contract for a while.

"That hasn't been on the front burner recently, so I haven't even checked with him," Geiger said. "Usually what we do - and I don't spend much time with the coaches on this - it's usually lawyer to lawyer."

Matta was traveling with the team in Madison, Wis., and could not be reached for comment. A member of Ohio State's sports information department did not respond to an e-mail requesting comment from Matta.

Asked if the contract would be finalized soon, Vannatta said, "I'd say it's hard to gauge."

Matta was hired on July 9 to replace seven-year head coach Jim O'Brien, who was fired a month earlier. Geiger fired O'Brien after he said the coach admitted to giving $6,000 to a recruit in 1999. O'Brien denies making the admission and has sued Ohio State for up to $6 million over his firing.

The NCAA is investigating the program under O'Brien. Another lawsuit dealing with expenses incurred by a Columbus woman who housed, fed and clothed former Ohio State player Boban Savovic for two years, has brought to light allegations that players were paid and that non-students did classwork for athletes.

At a news conference last month, Ohio State announced it would self-impose a one-year postseason ban on the team. Ohio State President Karen Holbrook said the ban and O'Brien's firing were steps taken to mitigate further sanctions against the program.

At the time the postseason ban was announced, Ohio State extended Matta's term another year through the 2011-12 season.

Geiger said he did not think it was a major problem that Matta had not signed the contract.

"The deal points are essentially solid, I think," Geiger said. "I don't think there's anything going on."

Matta, 37, has a 114-34 record in 4{ seasons as a head coach at Butler, Xavier and Ohio State. He guided Xavier to the NCAA's Atlanta Regional championship game a year ago before losing 66-63 to Duke.

Geiger also confirmed that when hired, Matta received a $250,000 signing bonus to buy out the rest of his Xavier contract.