Southern University’s coaching carousel has become an expensive habit for the HBCU. Firing Terrence Graves when it did could cost the HBCU program nearly double what patience might have saved.
When Southern fired Eric Dooley in November 2023, it agreed to a $460,000 settlement, spread over three annual payments of $153,333.33 each — in 2024, 2025, and 2026 — along with continued salary and benefits through the end of 2023. That deal remains active, meaning the university will make its final installment in January 2026.
Less than two years later, on October 20, 2025, Southern dismissed Terrence Graves midway through his second season as head coach. His contract, which runs through December 31, 2026, pays $250,000 annually and includes a liquidated damages clause that guarantees the full remaining value of the contract if he’s fired “without cause” during the first two years.
That means Southern is on the hook for Graves’ remaining $500k contract — his full salary for the rest of 2025 and all of 2026 — unless the board classifies the firing for cause or offsets the total with his next job.
The timing matters. Had the university waited until 2026, the buyout would have dropped to $75,000 total under the contract’s third-year clause. Instead, Southern is now facing a payout that could be nearly seven times higher.
Between Dooley’s $460,000 settlement and Graves’ estimated $500,000 buyout, Southern University will have paid close to $1 million in coaching severance since 2023 — all before hiring its next permanent leader.
For one of the proudest brands in HBCU football, it’s a costly reminder that change at the top can come with a heavy bill — and that timing those decisions can make all the financial difference.