Ex-Utah State Coach Sues Over Firing

Former Utah State coach Dave Arslanian sued the university in Salt Lake City, contending an administrator secretly hired a new coach five weeks before he was fired.

Mick Dennehy was introduced as Utah State’s new coach Dec. 3, one day after Arslanian was fired midway through his four-year contract.

Arslanian says former Utah State president George Emert hired Dennehy five weeks earlier without telling Arslanian, the university’s Board of Regents or the University of Montana, where Dennehy had coached for four seasons.

The lawsuit, filed in 3rd District Court, seeks unspecified punitive damages for fraud, breach of contract and breach of good faith. It also accuses Utah State of failing to pay salary and benefits totaling $310,504 that Arslanian claims he is still owed.

The school’s counsel, Craig Simper, said the new coach was hired the same day that Arslanian was fired.

The lawsuit says Emert became angry at Arslanian for hiring his brother, Paul Arslanian, as offensive coordinator against the president’s wishes. The lawsuit says Emert then decided to fire Dave Arslanian at the end of the 1999 season.

Arslanian and seven assistant coaches were fired after a 7-15 record in two seasons at Utah State.

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If struggling Oklahoma State is going to turn around its season, it will do so with a different quarterback.

Tony Lindsay, a senior, will miss the rest of the year because of a shoulder injury.

Lindsay struggled with his passing during the first five games. The Cowboys have totaled only 23 points in the past three games, all of them losses, and dropped to 2-3 overall, 0-2 in the Big 12.

Coach Bob Simmons said Lindsay apparently hurt the shoulder while making a tackle during a scrimmage Aug. 26. An MRI showed no tear in the shoulder, but the pain continued.

Lindsay’s father eventually asked for the medical tests to be sent to him and took them to a specialist who detected a tear, Simmons said. Surgery will be in the next few weeks. The injury continues a string of bad luck for Lindsay. A year ago, he injured a knee in the season opener and wound up playing in only six games.

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Nose guard Zach Johnson, who sat out the past two games after spraining his ankle against Utah, is listed as probable when the Falcons play Wyoming in Laramie on Saturday.

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Baylor starting linebacker Anthony Simmons was suspended by the team for three games for undisclosed disciplinary reasons. Simmons, a redshirt freshman tied for second among the Bears in tackles, did not travel to Lubbock, Texas, last weekend for Baylor’s 28-0 loss at Texas Tech.