O'Brien's suit against OSU delayed two months

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The start of former men's basketball coach Jim O'Brien's lawsuit against Ohio State was set back two months until Dec. 12-16 this week by the Ohio Court of Claims, the Dayton Daily News reported.

O'Brien is suing for $9.6 million he says he lost in the wake of his June 2004, firing for giving a recruit a $6,700 loan. That transaction led to an NCAA investigation that resulted in the discovery of nine violations which the university, for the most part, has not disputed, the newspaper said.

Ohio State has a hearing with the NCAA early in December on those alleged violations.

In court filings concerning his lawsuit, O'Brien says he was improperly fired "for cause" under the terms of his contract. He is expected to call Ohio State President Karen Holbrook, former athletic director Andy Geiger, current AD Gene Smith and current men's basketball coach Thad Matta to testify.

Citing testimony of an embarrassing sexual nature in the case, the NCAA requested that the O'Brien case be decided privately but the NCAA lost in court and then lost an appeal.

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