Cottrell hits $30 million jackpot

After retiring to the jury room, the eight women and four men came back just an hour and five minutes later with the verdict of $6 million in compensatory damages and $24 million in punitive damages.

"I'm so blessed," Cottrell said in front of a horde of cameras and microphones shortly after the verdict was read. "We still feel like there's more work to do."

The verdict closes a chapter on the much-publicized legal battle, in which Cottrell alleged that Culpepper, a secret witness in the NCAA investigation that landed Alabama on probation in 2002, defamed him and kept him from finding work. Cottrell was recently named head coach at Carroll High in Ozark, Ala.

Many of those allegations stem from the illegal recruitment of former Memphis Trezevant High School standout defensive end Albert Means. Former Tide booster Logan Young was found guilty in federal court earlier this year of paying $150,000 to former Trezevant coach Lynn Lang to steer Means to Alabama.

Earlier in the trial, Culpepper said that he turned to Tennessee coach Phillip Fulmer for help after he and his family were threatened by Young.

Culpepper remained stone-faced throughout the proceedings, as did his attorneys, John Scott and Josh Threadcraft. All three left the courthouse with out commenting to reporters, but told The Tuscaloosa News they planned to appeal.

Jurors were charged to decide whether Culpepper defamed Cottrell, deemed a private figure, on three specific statements:

• That Cottrell stole money from the Shaun Alexander Foundation.

• That Cottrell stole tapes of football recruits from the Alabama football office.

• That Cottrell abandoned his wife and children in Tallahassee when he took the job at Alabama in 1997. Under Alabama law, that is a crime.

The jurors walked in from their quarters in the back of Judge Steve Wilson's warm courtroom and settled into their seats as about 25 spectators watched. When a court clerk read the verdict, Cottrell and the attorneys standing beside him, Delaine Mountain and Clint Mountain, didn't seem to flinch. Cottrell's wife, Jean, starting sobbing and brother Danny came over to give hugs to her and Mountain's wife, among others.

Jurors never bought into Scott's 66-minute closing argument, in which he said Culpepper's alleged statements had nothing to do with Cottrell's not finding a job. After electing a foreman, jurors said they took one vote, in which Cottrell won 12-0. They spent the remainder of the time setting the financial damages, juror Clark Bailey said.

It's unclear whether Cottrell will ever see a dime of the verdict, though. It's also unclear if Culpepper's agreement with the NCAA to pay his legal bills will spill over into paying the $30 million.

Regardless, Cottrell was steadfast in his assertion that Friday's verdict cleared his name.

"All I asked for was a jury trial, and that's all I wanted," Cottrell said, his voice choking up. Pressed on whether he believed the verdict vindicated him, Cottrell said "Yes, I do."

One juror, Randy Tunnell, said he felt the panel would have found for former Tide assistant Ivy Williams, whose claims of defamation against the NCAA were dismissed Wednesday.

"I think you can try the case and any of the NCAA cases anywhere in this country and they're going to find the same thing," said Tunnell, who described himself as an avid Alabama football fan.