The University of Oregon is suing former running backs coach Carlos Locklyn for breach of contract after he took a job with a rival team less than two months after signing an extension with the Ducks last spring.

According to the lawsuit filed in the Lane County Circuit Court on April 4, the university is seeking $400,000 in damages plus 9% interest.

Locklyn signed a two-year, $800,000 extension with the Ducks on Feb. 1, 2024 that was set to expire in 2026. The contract included terms under which Locklyn could terminate, or “buyout”, his contract before it expired.

A few weeks later, on April 1, 2024, Locklyn left Oregon to become the running backs coach at The Ohio State University, but failed to pay the $400,000 buyout fee required by his contract, according to the lawsuit.

The university alleges Locklyn was obligated to repay that buyout, $400,000, within 60 days of terminating his contract and failed to do so.

The lawsuit claims that the UO contacted Locklyn’s agent, Pete Roussel, to collect the buyout. Instead, Locklyn claimed he only needed to pay back $200,000.

According to The Oregonian’s James Crepea, who first reported the news, Locklyn’s contract with Ohio State included a sum of $200,000 to be put toward the buyout of his contract with UO.

The lawsuit states that Locklyn mailed a personal check to UO, which the university refused to accept “to ensure that acceptance of the partial payment would not be deemed acceptance and satisfaction of the full amount owed,” according to the lawsuit.

John Berg, an attorney for Locklyn, told The Oregonian that Locklyn had done nothing wrong.

“The University declined the check, and now asserts an untenable interpretation of the agreement,” he told the newspaper. “We welcome the opportunity to present the facts to a judge and are confident the litigation will be resolved to Coach Locklyn’s satisfaction.”

The lawsuit alleges that Locklyn’s departure not only affected the football team’s ability to prepare for the then-upcoming 2025 season, but could have wide-spread impacts on the university’s other collegiate athletic programs.

“Public perception regarding the quality of the coaching staff and its likelihood of annual success is a critical driver in national rankings, recruiting and retention, ticket sales, and revenue generation,” the lawsuit said. “Any negative influence on these factors can have concrete financial implications for entire intercollegiate athletic programs, as the revenue derived from football — particularly for the most competitive programs — is used to fund all other varsity athletic programs.”

“The financial harm that an assistant coach’s unexpected departure may have on an intercollegiate football program is difficult, if not impossible, to ascertain.”

The lawsuit did not provide any examples of other programs affected by Locklyn’s departure, but states that if Locklyn is allowed to keep the $400,000 paid to him, Locklyn “will be unjustly enriched to the University’s detriment.”

Portland-based law firm Littler Mendelson is representing Locklyn on the case.

Locklyn was apart of Oregon head coach Dan Lanning’s inaugural staff at Oregon, spending the 2022 and 2023 seasons with the Ducks and helping the team to wins in the 2022 Holiday Bowl and the 2023 Fiesta Bowl. He won the 2025 College Football Playoff National Championship with Ohio State and faced Oregon twice, falling to the Ducks by one point in the regular season before beating them by 20 points in the 2025 Rose Bowl.