Don Brown’s promises were lies — at least in the eyes of the Suffolk Superior Court.

The former Husky coach who broke his contract with Northeastern in order to coach at the University of Massachusetts was blocked from doing so after a Suffolk Superior Court judge ruled Brown had violated his contract with NU. Justice Thomas E. Conn-olly ruled last Thursday that Brown caused “irreparable harm” to the school.

But Brown said only one side of the story has been told, and it isn’t his.

“The other side of the story is about to come out,” Brown said in a phone interview Tuesday night. Brown said that thus far, he’s been made out to look like a “villain.”

Brown arrived at NU on June 2, 2000 as the program’s ninth coach in history. He signed a contract on July 8, 2003, agreeing to extend his stay through the end of the 2007-08 season. With the signing of the contract, Brown also received “substantial salary increases,” according to the court ruling.

“We entered in with his consent into a large term contract. He received a benefit of a long- term contract,” said Northeastern Athletics Director David O’Brien. “We were surprised how coach Brown conducted himself at the end.”

Brown was ordered to “cease, desist and refrain from working as an employee, consultant, aide, assistant, or in any other capacity for the defendant, University of Massachusetts until further order of this Court.”

Brown is appealing the decision and said, “I’m very angry.”

Back at UMass, the seriousness of the situation has not yet reached the field, where players are anxiously awaiting the return of the coach they have already come to admire.

“He said Northeastern was trying to sue him or something and he had to step down and that he couldn’t be involved in practice,” said UMass junior linebacker Issac Kauffman. “Everyone is pretty confident that he’s coming back. He’s just waiting for this to play out. He seems like a great coach and a great guy.”

According to the court’s ruling, “there is no question that Brown willfully and intentionally breached his contract with Northeastern. He signed his contract and straight-out violated it.”

In the decision, written by Justice Connolly, the events leading up to Brown’s departure were detailed.

“He gave his word to Northeastern and the student athletes that he was not leaving Northeastern when in fact, within a day, he was cleaning out his room to move to UMass. Unfortunately for Northeastern, its student athletes, and its football program, Brown’s word was no good and his promises were lies.”

But it was a break in trust, not a contract, that angered players.

“It really bothered us that he left,” said sophomore cornerback Bismark Osei. “He was teaching us about loyalty and telling us he’s not leaving. We believed in his system, and that was part of the reason we were winning.”

On Monday, Feb. 9, Brown submitted his letter of resignation to O’Brien.

A press release was issued at 5:30 p.m. the same day announcing that Brown would be added to the UMass football family. Only three days prior to the announcement, Brown told AD O’Brien that UMass AD John McCutcheon offered the coaching gig to him, but Brown said he accepted the job and then declined it. That same weekend, according to court documents, Brown told football players that the rumors about his departure were false.

Brown said he wanted to say goodbye to the players he had coached for four years and explain himself, but was never given the opportunity.

“The last time I talked to him, he said ‘Get ready for winter workouts’ and I told him ‘I’d be ready’ and then he disappeared. Those are the last words that I can remember,” Osei said. “It made me think, ‘If he really wants to go, he’s going to go.'”

A team meeting was scheduled by Brown on Tuesday, Feb. 10 so he could properly honor the team.

“I wasn’t allowed to talk to them,” Brown said.

He said he was informed by one of the team assistants that he could not speak to any of the players.

At that point, Northeastern took to the courts.

“I was on campus when I heard about [the decision], I was elated,” O’Brien said. “We were very hurt by coach Brown’s departure, we felt mistreated in his departure. This was a straight forward breach of contract of coach Brown and I always felt that it was. I’m not sure I am surprised by the decision, but I am very pleased that the court did not make it more complicated than it was.”

Northeastern released a statement regarding the court decision stating this was a win for “the ethical integrity of intercollegiate athletics.”

“Northeastern is pleased that the court saw things our way, and felt it was necessary to make a statement about Northeastern’s commitment to ethical practices. There was a clear breach of contract and we are pleased that the court recognized the fact that unfair and deceptive business practices cannot be tolerated,” a statement released to The News this week read.

Justice Connolly called out UMass, stating the university was “callous in its duty to provide ethical and moral values for its students.”

“The persons from UMass involved in this episode have clearly violated the law but above all else have brought great shame on themselves and the university,” Connolly wrote.

After numerous attempts, UMass AD McCutcheon could not be reached for comment.

— Jeff Powalisz of the News Staff contributed to this report