Former Kent State head coach Kenni Burns is suing the university, its board of trustees, and several individuals within the administration for his April 2025 firing, according to a report Tuesday from ESPN.
Burns was placed on leave after he had repeated violations on his university-issued credit card, and the university also alleged Burns had a conflict of interest after accepting personal loans from a Kent State booster. Burns claims he was never properly trained on how and when to use the credit card, and that he repaid the loans to the booster with interest after having to temporarily relocate following a flood in his home. Burns also claimed the university was aware of his loan from the booster, and that other Kent State officials had entered into similar arrangements with the booster.
The crux of Burns's case, however, is that the university maneuvered to significantly and improperly reduce his buyout.
After the 2023 season -- Burns's first, in which the Golden Flashes went 1-11 -- Burns claims Kent State offered a 1-year extension but, in so doing, altered his buyout language that changed it from a percentage of the total contract value to a percentage of his base salary for the current year. In real dollars, it was a reduction from $2 million to roughly $371,000.
When confronted about the change, Burns claims AD Randale Richmond pledged to rectify the buyout situation, but then later told the Burns camp that the language was not changing.
Fast forward to around one year ago at this time, Burns claims he was offered the $371,000 to "quietly walk away" by Kent State deputy general counsel David Ochman. Ochman then informed Burns he would be fired without cause.
"Upon information and belief, the 'error' in the First Amendment allowed Kent State's plan to wrongfully terminate Kenni Burns' to move forward, saving the University money by not having to comply with the buy-out terms of Kenni Burns' original contract," Burns' lawsuit reads, per ESPN.
Kent State promoted offensive coordinator Mark Carney to interim head coach last April, then named him the Golden Flashes' full-time head coach in October. Kent State went 1-23 in two seasons under Burns, and 5-7 in their one season to date under Carney. The program as a whole has enjoyed six winning seasons since College Football Hall of Famer Don James left the university after the 1974 season.