Governor figures in Coach Rod E-Mail Revelation

Gov. Joe Manchin played a role in the back-and-forth between West Virginia University and then-football head coach Rich Rodriguez and his agent that preceded his ugly departure to Michigan, The Associated Press reports.

AP's Vicki Smith obtained a stream of e-mails that detail the behind-the-scenes machinations that have roiled the program and WVU fans. "They show (agent Mike) Brown fighting for more operational and marketing control over the football program and over money Rodriguez helped raise through a booster organization he founded," Smith reports.

Smith also reports that "In e-mails to WVU president Mike Garrison and his chief of staff, Craig Walker, Brown also complains of Gov. Joe Manchin interfering with the program."

Smith's exclusive has gotten play well beyond West Virginia's borders. The Charleston Gazette asks Manchin about the story. Others with local reaction to its revelations include Public Broadcasting and MetroNews.