HONOLULU -- The University of Hawaii at Manoa is suing former basketball coach Gib Arnold, saying he deceived the school into believing his team complied with NCAA regulations.
The lawsuit filed in state court in Honolulu on Wednesday accuses Arnold of fraud and negligence. The school is seeking unspecified damages.
The university also is asking the court to weigh in on a contract dispute with Arnold. The former coach has filed a grievance against the school, saying he's entitled to $1.4 million in damages on the grounds the university violated the terms of his contract when it fired him without cause last year.
Arnold's attorney, Jim Bickerton, said the grievance process is more than halfway through "and it appears the university doesn't like the way it's going."
"We're confident the court will tell the university that they have no business in court and they should stick to the grievance process," Bickerton told The Associated Press in a telephone interview.
He called the lawsuit "essentially a public relations stunt to throw Coach Arnold in a bad light just before the NCAA hearing next month."
The NCAA in January said the university's basketball program violated coaching and recruiting rules.