intentional) to seal the Wildcats' win. Kentucky also had two lopsided victories over SEC East regular season champion Tennessee. Although Gillispie continued to take the blame for the Wildcats' woes, he was also a victim of some of his youthful and inexperienced recruits' underperformance and the lack of consistent play at the point guard position. Gillispie continued to publicly encourage his players and praise their work ethic despite the team's inconsistent play during the 2008–09 season. Such encouragement manifested itself in Gillispie's public statements about his players after close losses. Kentucky missed the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1991, and received a 4th seed in the NIT, defeating UNLV and Creighton in the opening and second rounds before losing to the Notre Dame Fighting Irish in the quarterfinals. Kentucky finished the year with an 8–8 record in conference and 22–14 overall. The record tied for the second-most losses ever in the program's history. Firing Gillispie was fired as the Wildcats' head coach on March 27, 2009. Athletic director Mitch Barnhart told Gillispie that his firing was not related to on-court performance, but was due to a general feeling that Gillispie was "not a good fit" for UK. According to Barnhart, the "incompatibility" between Gillispie and UK specifically manifested itself in Gillispie's failure to sign a formal contract two years after his hiring. As mentioned above, Gillispie had coached for two years on a "Memorandum of Understanding," not a contract; UK initially considered it the equivalent of a series of one-year contracts. UK had offered Gillispie a seven-year contract, but Gillispie had never signed it. Lawsuit and settlement On May 27, 2009, Gillispie filed a lawsuit against the University of Kentucky Athletic Association for breach of contract and fraud stemming from the firing. The suit was filed in Gillispie's home state of Texas, in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas. Gillispie was seeking $6 million, the amount he claimed the university owed him on the remaining years on the deal, punitive damages, attorney fees, and a jury trial. The next day, the university filed a countersuit against Gillispie in Franklin Circuit Court in Frankfort, Kentucky's state capital. In the countersuit, UK sought a judge's order that Gillispie's memorandum of understanding was not a formal contract. On October 13, 2009, UK and Gillispie agreed to settle the dispute. Under the agreement, Gillispie got $2.98 million