MORGANTOWN - From the outset to the conclusion, attorneys representing West Virginia University in its lawsuit seeking to collect the buyout from former football Coach Rich Rodriguez maintained their case was a matter of not only law, but also principle.

The case never will go to trial, so it can set no legal precedent, but a point was made nevertheless Wednesday as Rodriguez and the University of Michigan agreed to pay the full $4 million by 2012.

"It makes a statement," WVU attorney Tom Flaherty said. "Certainly, it's not a ruling from a court on whether the contract is valid or not valid or whether the liquidated damages clause is a penalty.

"Only the court can set a precedent, but I think this is a strong statement that a contract is a contract and the people of West Virginia are people of their word and expect to be held to that."

A conflict nearly seven months old ended as WVU's Board of Governors approved a settlement agreement both sides reached shortly before midnight Tuesday.

"It's good that this matter is behind us," WVU Athletic Director Ed Pastilong said. "Now, it is important for the WVU football program to focus on the future."

UM Athletic Director Bill Martin had a similar message. He said his school was eager to work with Rodriguez to get past the lawsuit and direct attention back to football.

"To help Rich focus on the challenges ahead, we have worked with him to resolve the dispute between him and West Virginia University over the terms of his buyout," Martin said. "Although he continues to disagree with the validity of the terms, Rich and the rest of us at Michigan felt that it would be best to get this distracting issue behind us."

UM will pay WVU $2.5 million before the end of the month and Rodriguez will handle the remaining $1.5 million. He'll make the first of three $500,000 annual payments in January 2010.

The liquidated damages clause in Rodriguez's final contract stated the buyout was to be paid by 2010, but WVU agreed to extend the period two years to reach the settlement.

WVU also dropped its pursuit of interest, but did so by reasoning UM's payment is significantly greater than the $1.3 million Rodriguez did not pay within 30 days of his resignation, plus interest.

"The interest right now is something in the neighborhood of $55,000, and we told them all along that if they were willing to resolve this quickly, we'd be willing not to pursue interest," Flaherty said.

Each side will be responsible for its own legal fees and Martin said UM's reserve funds will pay for Rodriguez's.

Flaherty said the only way the losing party or the party responsible for the settlement would have to pay the other side's legal fees was if it were written into a contract. Rodriguez's contract had no such provision.

Flaherty said WVU's legal team will be "fairly compensated" and a bill will be turned in soon. WVU's attorneys, ranging from assistants to associates, were being paid between $175 and $245 per hour.

"We've kept track of the time and the expenses and we'll submit an itemized bill broken down to tenths of an hour - every six minutes - for everything we did to date, who did it and how much time it took, plus the expenses we incurred defending the university," Flaherty said.

It could be a steep bill. Flaherty said just expenses - travel, hotels, filing fees, paying court reporters and videographers, etc. - will be in excess of $35,000.

Flaherty said Rodriguez's attorneys made the first overture to settle last month, but it wasn't nearly what WVU wanted.

"It was a figure we rejected outright without even making a counter proposal," he said.

It was, however, the first sign of a weakened defense Rodriguez's side had pursued vigorously, but without any great results.

"They had the opportunity to do this earlier, but it's clear what the lawyers were trying to do was establish or create or manufacture a defense that didn't exist in hopes that West Virginia would cave in and resolve the case for something less than full value," Flaherty said.

Rodriguez's attorneys revisited the settlement Monday, which had been expected. Unredacted drafts of the terms and conditions agreement Rodriguez and UM negotiated were due Tuesday. A Michigan court was to rule Wednesday afternoon on WVU's request to subpoena Martin and UM President Mary Sue Coleman and force them to give depositions.

They previously had declined requests to be deposed and claimed they had nothing to do with the lawsuit, but WVU discovered Monday night the terms sheet drafts showed UM agreed to pay 75 percent of the buyout up to $2.5 million.

WVU was confident a settlement agreement would be reached, perhaps before Wednesday's hearing, because UM wouldn't want to subject Martin and Coleman to depositions.

On cue, an offer came Monday night, but WVU rejected it.

"They made an offer that would have been a full payment, but it was stretched out over such a long period of time that it was simply not acceptable," Flaherty said. "However, we viewed it as a very serious offer and a good-faith attempt to resolve this."

The sides met again late Tuesday and worked quickly toward a deal.

"It gives us what we've always said it would take to resolve this case," Flaherty said. "We said back in January when the suit was filed the price was $4 million, and that's what the contract called for."