On Wednesday, Nick Saban said Alabama had a hard time finding an opponent to play the Tide in the 2011 opener after an unnamed school backed out of a contract to play Sept. 3 in Bryant-Denny Stadium.
Kent State eventually stepped up, but Purdue now says the Mid-American Conference school pulled the same trick on them.
The Lafayette (Ind.) Journal and Courier reported Thursday that Saban’s alma mater is paying Purdue the $425,000 buyout clause to trade the Boilermakers for the Tide.
“This is a new one, having someone opt out of a contract just over 10 months before a game,” Purdue Athletics Director Morgan Burke said in a statement. “I am personally surprised because of the positive relationship Purdue and Kent State have had through the years.”
On Wednesday, Saban made a similar comment.
“These old contracts that people have ― that I probably shouldn’t be commenting on ― people are willing to give them more, so they take more,” Saban said.
The Daily Bama Blog 