Five years ago, Rutgers University President Robert Barchi sat in a Trenton hearing room facing a panel of state lawmakers who were worried about the hefty severance packages the state university had been paying to a string of ousted coaches and administrators after several sports-related scandals.
Barchi was unapologetic. Even in cases where coaches and administrators had clearly failed at their jobs, offering contract buyouts and settlements helped avoid lawsuits and lingering fights over money.
Nearly half a million paid to Mike Rice, the newly-fired basketball coach, was "in the best interests of the university," the president said at the time.