COLUMBUS, Ohio - Former Ohio State basketball coach Jim O'Brien sued the school, claiming he is owed at least $3.4 million because his firing violated terms of his contract.

O'Brien was fired in June after athletic director Andy Geiger said the coach admitted paying $6,000 to a former recruit. O'Brien claims in the lawsuit filed Wednesday that the school owes him money because the NCAA didn't find he broke the association's rules.

Joseph F. Murray, O'Brien's lawyer, said Thursday that the coach's contract with OSU provided for a narrow set of circumstances under which he could be fired without pay.

One such circumstance would be if the NCAA launched a "major infraction investigation" and sanctioned the school, the lawsuit said. Since the NCAA has done neither, the school owes O'Brien damages, Murray said.

The suit in the Ohio Court of Claims in Columbus says O'Brien is owed at least $3.4 million in damages, and he is seeking up to $6 million because Ohio State failed to pay him the initial amount he was owed.

Ohio State's athletic department said in a statement Thursday night that it "operated well within its authority" in firing O'Brien. The university declined further comment until its lawyers finished reviewing the lawsuit.

In a June letter to O'Brien, Geiger said the coach's payment to the player constituted a violation of NCAA rules. Geiger wrote that O'Brien breached his contract by violating NCAA rules and then failing to report the violation to the collegiate athletics governing body.

O'Brien's firing came with five years left on his annual $864,000 contract.