Disappointment of the Week: Paul Hewitt's contract
Have you seen this thing?
The Georgia Tech men's basketball team lost in the opening round of the ACC tournament yesterday—59-43 to Virginia Tech—and finished the 2010-11 season with a record of 13-18.
Head coach Paul Hewitt has been in Atlanta for 11 years and—besides his team's national runner-up finish in 2004—done little to enthuse the Georgia Tech fanbase, student body and alumni thanks to numerous losing seasons and the overall underachievement of the men's basketball program.
Hewitt would've been fired three years ago had he been at any other school or, perhaps more importantly, signed any other contract. In particular, one that doesn't automatically renew itself:
It is the intention of the Parties to create an automatic “rollover” provision so that the Term of this Agreement will always have six (6) years remaining after the automatic rollover occurs. Commencing April 15, 2005 and on April 15th of each year thereafter, the Term of this Agreement shall be automatically extended by one (1) additional year so that, on April 15th of each year, the Term of this Agreement shall be six (6) years unless the Association determines that an extension rollover not be made and notifies Hewitt of its decision in writing not less than thirty (30) days prior to April 15th in any year during the Term.