Court Date Set for April For Rodriguez vs. W.Va.

West Virginia University and ex-coach Rich Rodriguez will get their day in court.

Judge Robert Stone set an April 3 hearing date in Monongalia County Circuit Court in Morgantown. Stone will hear several motions and counterclaims filed in West Virginia's lawsuit over a $4 million buyout clause in Rodriguez's contract.

Among the motions are orders to compel Rodriguez to produce evidence and a request to expedite the trial. Both sides have indicated a desire to finish before football season.

Rodriguez resigned in December after seven seasons with the Mountaineers to take the head coaching job at Michigan, taking some of his coaches and recruits with him.

West Virginia claims Rodriguez owes the full amount he agreed to pay in his contract.

Rodriguez claims he signed that agreement under false pretenses, expecting certain verbal promises from the administration to be kept. . . .

LSU will make Les Miles the highest-paid head football coach in the Southeastern Conference under a renegotiated five-year contract agreement signed yesterday.

Miles will earn at least $3.75 million plus $1,000 per year in a deal that nudges him ahead of Alabama Coach Nick Saban and makes Miles one of the nation's top-paid college football coaches.

Miles is 34-6 at LSU since taking over for Saban in 2005.

¿ PRO FOOTBALL: Oft-injured Derrick Ward re-signed with the Giants after a season in which he was part of a group of running backs who did an outstanding job in replacing Tiki Barber and helped New York win the Super Bowl.

Ward rushed for 602 yards and three touchdowns before a broken left leg ended his season in December.