Cincinnati, ex-coach John Brannen reach $2.75 million settlement on lawsuit over firing
Cincinnati agreed to pay former Bearcats men’s basketball coach John Brannen $2.75 million as part of the settlement agreement announced Thursday between the two parties, according to a public records request obtained by The Athletic.
Had Brannen not been fired for cause, his contract stipulated he was owed a buyout of $5.25 million by the university at the time of his termination in April 2021.
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Brannen will be responsible for any taxes on the settlement payment, which was officially agreed to and signed by both parties on Sept. 7. Brannen is not eligible for re-hire or re-employment of any kind with the university, and attorneys representing both parties agree not to comment on or publicly disclose any information about the case, lawsuits or settlement.
The settlement intends to bring “a complete, final and irreversible end to any and all claims and/or disputes which arose or could have arisen” from Brannen’s lawsuits against the university, as well as his employment and subsequent firing.
On Thursday, the university announced it had “reached an amicable resolution” with Brannen. The former Bearcats coach, who was fired in April 2021 after the school opened an investigation into allegations related to its men’s basketball program, had filed a lawsuit on his for-cause termination last spring.
“Both parties look forward to putting this matter behind them and focusing on the future,” Cincinnati said in a release.
Cincinnati fired Brannen on April 9, 2021, one week after placing him on administrative leave. His tenure dissolved after a month-long saga following the 2020-21 regular season marked by a reported rift between Brannen and numerous players, and what the university described as a failure “to promote an atmosphere of compliance” and a disregard for “the well-being, health and safety of student-athletes.”
During Brannen’s two seasons with the Bearcats, seven players he recruited had left the program, and only two of seven players added before the 2020-21 season remained on the roster by the time of his firing. Even during the team’s run to the American Athletic Conference championship game in 2021, the issues within the program had been brewing all season, sources told The Athletic.
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In May 2021, Brannen filed a federal lawsuit against the school, its president and athletic director in response to his termination. The suit alleged his termination was “nothing more than a smokescreen to avoid triggering a contractual buyout clause that would have cost the University millions of dollars.” By firing Brannen for cause, the school avoided paying a $5.25-million buyout stipulated in his contract.
Three months later, the university, UC president Neville Pinto, and UC athletic director John Cunningham filed a motion to dismiss Brannen’s claims in the lawsuit, in their entirety. That motion essentially meant the defendants believed Brannen’s claims were legally invalid.
Brannen withdrew the federal lawsuit in October 2021 and then filed a similar suit in the Ohio Court of Claims. In that second lawsuit, he dropped Pinto and Cunningham as defendants.
On Tuesday, the University of Dayton men’s basketball program announced it had hired Brannen as a program analyst and senior special assistant under head coach Anthony Grant. Brannen previously worked as an assistant under Grant at VCU and Alabama.
(Photo: Justin Casterline / Getty Images)
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