BATON ROUGE - NC State is investigating whether LSU "improperly persuaded basketball coach Will Wade to break his contract with the Wolfpack" to return to Baton Rouge, WRAL reports.

The station reported that NC State is refusing to release LSU from potential legal action tied to Wade's departure, as the school looks into whether LSU violated a North Carolina law allowing for damages and recovery of attorneys' fees.

NC State said it has reason to believe LSU may have worked to help Wade avoid a larger buyout fee, letters between the two schools showed.

“The timing and circumstances of Coach Wade’s departure from Raleigh and his resignation, along with the LSU term sheet, and the eventual [buyout] payment of $4 million to NC State raise questions about LSU’s potential liability in this matter,” NC State General Counsel Allison B. Newhart wrote to LSU General Counsel Carlton Jones.