Utah sues Whittingham's brother over U-M move

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  Jake TrotterAug 20, 2026, 12:18 PM ET

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  Jake Trotter is a senior writer at ESPN. Trotter covers college football. He also writes about other college sports, including men's and women's basketball. Trotter resides in the Cleveland area with his wife and three kids and is a fan of his hometown Oklahoma City Thunder. He covered the Cleveland Browns and NFL for ESPN for five years, moving back to college football in 2024. Previously, Trotter worked for the Middletown (Ohio) Journal, Austin American-Statesman and Oklahoman newspapers before joining ESPN in 2011. He's a 2004 graduate of Washington and Lee University. You can reach out to Trotter at jake.trotter@espn.com and follow him on X at @Jake_Trotter.

The University of Utah is suing former assistant Freddie Whittingham for breach of contract after he left the Utes to join the coaching staff of his brother, Kyle Whittingham, at Michigan.

University attorneys filed a lawsuit on Aug. 3 in Utah's Third District Court, alleging that Freddie Whittingham "abandoned" his role as Utah's tight ends coach, despite being under contract through January 2027, to take the tight ends job at Michigan.

According to the lawsuit, Utah is seeking more than $300,000 from Whittingham for breach of contract and at least $1 million for general and special damages.

The lawsuit claims that Whittingham failed to get "written consent" from Utah to engage with Michigan, failed to provide Utah with "written notice of resignation," failed to pay "liquidated damages" specified under the terms of the contract and failed "to devote full-time attention and energy to the duties" of being a Utah assistant, adding that Whittingham "actively recruited Utah players and recruits to Michigan while still employed by Utah."

Officials from Utah and Michigan didn't immediately respond for comment.

Whittingham had a base annual salary of $525,000 from Utah.

Kyle Whittingham went 177-88 in 21 seasons at Utah as the winningest coach in program history. In December, he announced he was stepping down as head coach before joining Michigan.

Freddie Whittingham had worked under his brother at Utah since 2012, first as a director of player personnel, then a recruiting coordinator and tight ends coach.