Head football coach Mike Leach of Texas Tech was fired forbreach of contract. He had recently signed a $12.7 million contractfor five years, and he had been named by the Associated Press asthe Big XII Coach of the Year in 2008. However, that didn’t stopTexas Tech from firing him, citing breach of performance as thereason for the termination. Under the terms of his contract, he wasto “assure the fair and responsible treatment of student-athletesin relation to their health, welfare, and discipline.” Allegedly,Coach Leach forced a student athlete to stand in a shed after theathlete was diagnosed with a mild concussion. Leach’s supportersargue that the “shed” was a comfortable garage-like room with acooler and a fan and that Coach Leach was simply having the playerstand inside, out of the sun, in accordance with medical orders.Others argue that this was a sadistic punishment that wasinappropriately levied against an injured player.

Underlying this controversy are allegations that the firingoccurred because Leach interviewed with another universityunbeknownst to Texas Tech and because he has a colorful personalitythat might offend some people. For instance, he allegedly blamedhis players’ “fat little girlfriends” for distracting them to theirdefeat against Texas A&M. Coach Leach was fired just beforereceiving an alleged $800,000 contractual bonus.

What additional information would you need to determine whetherCoach Leach’s services fell below substantial performance and werea material breach or whether he substantially performed hiscontract so that he did not materially breach it?