Charleston, W.Va. ? West Virginia University’s Board of Governors has sued former football coach Rich Rodriguez on Thursday to collect a $4 million buyout of his contract with the school.

The lawsuit, filed in Monongalia County Circuit Court, says the university believes Rodriguez doesn’t intend to abide by the contract.

The buyout clause requires Rodriguez to pay $4 million to WVU over a two-year period, with one-third of the total due 30 days after his employment’s termination. His resignation was effective Dec. 19.

Rodriguez’s agent, Mike Brown, declined to comment Thursday night on the lawsuit.

Rodriguez went to Michigan after seven seasons in Morgantown, where he led West Virginia to four Big East championships and a 60-26 record.

West Virginia officials decided to ask a court to enforce the contract after supporters of Rodriguez questioned its validity and the coach did not disavow those statements, said Alex Macia, vice president of legal affairs and legal counsel for the university.

“There are very clear statements and factually incorrect statements by people who purportedly speak for the coach,” Macia said.

“There comes a time when you have to have a court pronounce as a matter of law what happened,” he said.

Rodriguez and the university agreed to a seven-year contract on Dec. 21, 2002, and it has been extended twice since then. The latest revision was agreed to on Dec. 8, 2006, when Rodriguez was considering an offer from Alabama.