Fayetteville, AR-- Arkansas has fired Bobby Petrino, saying he "knowingly misled" and engaged in reckless behavior in a relationship with a female football employee half his age.
The 51-year-old Petrino was injured in an April 1 motorcycle accident. He was put on paid leave last week after admitting he lied about the presence of the 25-year-old employee, Jessica Dorrell, who had been riding with him.
Athletic director Jeff Long says Petrino misled him and gave Dorrell $20,000 at one point, though he said he couldn't disclose what it was for. He says Petrino was fired "with cause" -- meaning he will not receive a multimillion-dollar buyout -- and there were no discussions about ways to keep Petrino at Arkansas.
Arkansas placed Petrino on paid leave last Thursday after a police report showed a 25-year-old female employee was a passenger on the football coach's motorcycle when it crashed on April 1.
Petrino, 51, crashed near the town of Crosses in Madison County -- about 23 miles southeast of Fayetteville.
Though his family released a statement saying he was alone at the time of the crash, the third page of a four-page collision report released Thursday by the Arkansas State Police lists Jessica Dorrell, 25, as riding on the motorcycle with him.
Petrino later acknowledged Dorrell with him at the time of the accident, saying he had "been in constant pain, medicated and the circumstances involving the wreck have come out in bits and pieces."
Dorrell was hired to a position in the Arkansas athletic department last week.
Petrino is 34-17 in four seasons at Arkansas and guided the Razorbacks to an 11-2 mark and a Cotton Bowl win over Kansas State this past season.
The Sports Network