By Tony Dobies | The Daily Athenaeum, West Virginia U.

Former West Virginia University football coach Rich Rodriguez said the deterioration of his relationship with athletic director Ed Pastilong led, in part, to his decision to leave for Michigan.

Rodriguez was asked a multitude of questions in his April 21 deposition, released on Tuesday, but most centered on his relationships with the people closest to him while at WVU.

In early August, after the blessing, which has become a ritual Pastilong started with the football team prior to summer practices, Rodriguez, Pastilong, Rita Rodriguez, current President Mike Garrison, current chief of staff Craig Walker and Rodriguez’s financial advisor Mike Wilcox met in a meeting.

According to the deposition, the meeting was initiated by Garrison.

Rodriguez, who said he had done most of the talking in the meeting, asked “Are we capped out? Is this as far as you will let me take the program?”

Rodriguez believed those comments - because they were made to others besides Pastilong - made the athletic director upset because he was “circumventing the chain of command or the protocol.”

After that point, Rodriguez said that Pastilong made little effort to talk with him. He didn’t travel on the team’s charter plane to away games, Pastilong’s wife would not return any phone calls from Rodriguez’s wife and he didn’t attend practice anymore either, which he had customarily done before.

Rodriguez said that Pastilong also may have taken a personal shot at Rodriguez the day after the 13-9 loss to Pittsburgh.

According to the current Michigan head coach, Pastilong called Rodriguez to tell him that the team had earned a Fiesta Bowl bid.

But during that conversation, Pastilong had told the coach that he wanted to “go in with his chest out” about the win and the fact the football team would be playing in the National Championship at Big East meetings he was attending, but “he could not do that now.”

Rodriguez also said that he asked Pastilong after the season if the conversation in early August was the reason the relationship went downhill and “he (Pastilong) nodded his head.”

Rodriguez also said that promises made by Garrison prior to him taking over as president, along with promises by Board of Governor members that it would be better for him under Garrison’s rule and the things Rodriguez wanted were “no brainers” under Garrison.

In conversations prior to Rodriguez leaving for Michigan, Garrison had promised to work to resolve issues that dealt with facility updates, assistant coaches and graduate assistant salaries, a personal Web site, the $5 high school coaches fee, student-athlete textbooks and money from the 1100 Club, among other things.

On Dec. 15, 2007, at Garrison’s home, Rodriguez asked if any of those issues that he brought up to raise the level of the program would be able to be fixed.

Rodriguez said, “And up until that time it always had been positive, that we will work on it. We’ll try. Give us time. We’ll get it done.

“And that night I asked specifically, tell me yes or no. And it was no to everything.”

Rodriguez said that he had continued to “hold out hope” that even though the projects weren’t getting done, that they would eventually, based on what Garrison had said.

Earlier in the same day, Rodriguez met with Pastilong and Walker. When asked to answer with yes and no answers to Rodriguez’s specific wants from the August meeting, Pastilong said, “no, no, no, no, no,” according to Rodriguez.

Pastilong had said in his deposition that he didn’t give Rodriguez a firm answer at that point.

Rodriguez said that despite holding out hope, he met with Michigan because of the worsening of the environment surrounding the program.

He cited the relationship between Walker and Pastilong in the deposition, even going so far as calling it, “a dysfunctional family.”

Rodriguez said all of his money gripes with the contract at WVU were based on the $4 million buyout and things that would boost his program.

“Personally I felt I had raised the program to a level it hadn’t been to, and a level it would sustain for many, many years,” he said.

Rodriguez’s agent, Mike Brown, was questioned by WVU lawyers late last week. It is also expected that several WVU officials will be deposed by Rodriguez’s lawyers, while Rodriguez’s wife Rita, and Wilcox are expected to be questioned by WVU lawyers.