Steve Harvey has a contract with ASU, or does he?
Steve Harvey has a signed contract in place with Alabama State University to promote the school’s Turkey Day Classic football game, the comedian’s business partner said Friday, although ASU officials continue to deny an agreement has been reached.
Greg Calhoun, a longtime Montgomery businessman who has partnered with Harvey in several ventures around the South, told the Montgomery Advertiser that Harvey and ASU reached a deal shortly after his first visit to the campus in early April and that Harvey’s event team has started work on promoting the Turkey Day Classic.
“I can’t for the life of me understand why someone there would tell you that there isn’t a contract,” Calhoun said. “Trust me, there is one. He’s started working on the Classic and helping ASU already. This isn’t a deal that’s out of the ordinary, except that you have one of the hottest, biggest names in entertainment involved.”
Attempts to reach ASU officials on Friday afternoon were unsuccessful. During the summer, to save money, the staff at the school work four, 10-hour days per week and are off on Fridays.
Calhoun said he didn’t have the specific details of the contract, but he stressed that Harvey’s involvement would cost ASU nothing.
“(Harvey) is basically making an investment in this community, this city, this county, and if what he’s doing is successful, he will see a return on that,” Calhoun said. “Actually, that’s not true — not him, he won’t see a return. His foundation will get the money. And his foundation does a lot of good work, too.”
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Calhoun said the contract requires Harvey to use his celebrity status to help attract “big-time entertainers, music stars and the like” to be involved with the festivities surrounding the Turkey Day Classic. And he said Harvey also planned to promote the university in general — something he’s already started doing by visiting the campus twice and speaking at the school’s spring graduation ceremonies.
Calhoun confirmed that Harvey wasn’t paid for either visit, and ASU officials said in an email last week that he turned down lodging and meal money as well.
Why there is a misunderstanding about Harvey’s contract, or lack of contract, with ASU is unclear. But in an official statement last week, the school said there “is no contract with (Harvey) or any of his companies.”
Additionally, three board members said Friday that they were unaware of a signed contract with the star and that they haven’t been presented a contract by university president Gwendolyn Boyd to approve. Two of the three trustees said they recalled discussions about contract terms but were never presented a physical contract.
One of those trustees was former board Chairman Locy Baker, who said he felt like there was basically an agreement in place but lacked a final signed contract.
“I’ve stayed out of things since I’m not chair anymore, but I think everyone was on the same page and it was advancing,” Baker said. “We never signed anything, as far as I know. But I think everyone pretty much agreed on the major points — and most of the minor ones.”
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Calhoun said he understands why people have questions about why Harvey is involved with ASU, and especially about why he would be helping a school to which he has seemingly no ties for so little financial return.
“I asked that myself — why is he involved here? — but then, if you know Steve, it’s not that hard to believe,” Calhoun said. “He comes here and visits my family and me, and he saw that campus and heard about their problems, and he just wants to help do something for these kids. That’s all it is with him — he came up from nothing and made it to the top, and he wants to help other kids do that, too.”
Calhoun said Harvey is currently paying “out of his own pocket” for a number of young people to attend college at several universities around the country, including ASU.
“I don’t know how many kids are going to school right now because of him,” Calhoun said. “That’s just the kind of guy he is. You don’t get to have the success he has right now and treat people like dirt and no one know about it.”
Harvey currently is starring in four TV shows, has a syndicated radio show and is a best-selling author. Calhoun said he has used that fame to partner with a number of universities around the South, including Mississippi State University and Morehouse College, to help promote minority students. He has also partnered with Coca-Cola and Disney to offer scholarship programs and has his own foundation that supports fatherless youth.
“I don’t know why ASU is saying there isn’t a contract, but I can tell you we want to be as transparent and open as we can possibly be, and we’ll tell you anything you want to know,” Calhoun said. “Steve is a good guy. I don’t want to see him get run off while he’s trying to help.”