Former University of Arkansas, Fayetteville football coach Bret Bielema’s agreement with the nonprofit foundation that supports university athletics can be released under the state’s open-records law, Attorney General Leslie Rutledge said in a formal opinion Thursday.
Bielema, through his agent, sought Rutledge’s input after the university informed the fired coach it planned to release a copy of his deal with the Razorback Foundation to the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette in response to an Arkansas Freedom of Information Act request.
Bielema’s contract with UA referenced the agreement as a factor in determining how much the athletic program would owe him if the university fired him.