Ohio State University was ordered today to pay as much as $2.25-million to a men’s basketball coach who won a lawsuit this past spring that said the university had violated his contract when it fired him, in 2004.

According to The Columbus Dispatch, a state judge ruled that “the terms of the contract made it very difficult” for Ohio State to fire the coach, James J. O’Brien, without having to suffer “a financial consequence,” even though the university has already had to pay $1-million in sanctions imposed by the NCAA because of rules violations committed by Mr. O’Brien.

The judge, Joseph T. Clark of the Ohio Court of Claims, ruled against Ohio State on the merits of the case six months ago (The Chronicle, February 16). A month later, the NCAA put Ohio State on probation for rule breaking that occurred under Mr. O’Brien’s watch (The Chronicle, March 11). Today’s ruling concerned only the amount of the damages, which could have been much higher. Mr. O’Brien had sought as much as $10-million.

The Columbus newspaper quoted an Ohio State official as saying that the judgment was likely to be appealed.