LITTLE ROCK — Former South Florida coach Jim Leavitt told members of the Little Rock Touchdown Club that everyone experiences adversity, but it’s how adversity is dealt that defines a person.
Leavitt, 53, is going through his share of adversity after being f ired in January. A school investigation alleged that he grabbed sophomore running back Joel Miller by the throat in a game against Louisville, slapped him in the face and lied about it. Leavitt didn’t discuss his firing when he spoke to club members at the Embassy Suites hotel, but he was asked about it afterward. Miller is still on the USF team.
Leavitt, who completed the second year of a 7-year, $12.6-million contract, is suing South Florida for $7.1 million in the Hillsborough County Circuit Court in Tampa.
“I can’t talk about it because things have not been portrayed correctly,” Leavitt said after the luncheon. “I’m looking forward to the day when I can talk about it. It’s not about the money, but being able to get my good name back.”
A trial date has not been set. On Wednesday, a judge ordered South Florida to release unredacted notes from the investigation that led to Leavitt’s firing.
Leavitt said he wants to get back into coaching and would “coach tomorrow if it was the right opportunity.” He said atthis point, he’s not concerned over how his firing and subsequent lawsuit will be viewed by other schools.
“I have no control over that,” Leavitt said. “I have to hope that somebody sees me for what I’ve done at South Florida and gives me a chance.”
Leavitt said he has talked to former Texas Tech coach Mike Leach, who was fired in December after a school investigation following allegations that he forced Adam James, the son of ESPN analyst Craig James to stand in a darkened equipment shed after suffering a concussion.
Leach has sued Texas Tech and is attempting to recoup $2.5 million that the university was supposed to pay him before he was fired.
“We’ve talked, but these are two different cases,” Leavitt said. “Mike’s a great coach and a great friend, but hopefully he’ll get back.”
Leavitt, who was hired in December 1995, to lead South Florida from scratch, went 95-57 in 13 years, guiding the Bulls from the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision to Division I Football Bowl Subdivision in 2001, where it competed as an independent for two years before joining Conference USA in 2003 and the Big East in 2005.
The highwater mark for the program came in 2007 when the Bulls defeated Auburn 26-23 in overtime, No. 5 West Virginia 21-13 and climbed to No. 2 in the Associated Press rankings before losing 30-27 to Rutgers. The Bulls finished the season 9-4, 4-3 in the Big East and lost 56-21 to Oregon in the Sun Bowl.
“I remember when we beat Elon (28-13) the week before we played Auburn and I said you are the team that will go in and beat Auburn and if we have a chance to win the game late, we will not go for the tie, we will go for the win.
“My kicker missed five field goals [four] and after his fourth miss, I walked on the field and prayed because I wanted to lift my holder, snapper and kicker,” Leavitt said. “He hit the field goal to tie it and then in overtime, we had a quarterback sneak on fourth-and-1 and threw a corner route for the touchdown.
“That was a great time when we beat Auburn. The little old school with outdated old trailers got to enjoy one of the most powerful moments ever when we beat Auburn. We had some great, great moments and I wouldn’t trade it for anything.
“We had a great location, great support and had some people with a great vision. Jim Leavitt didn’t build South Florida, a lot of great people built South Florida.”
Sports, Pages 22 on 09/28/2010