Does Economic Downturn Grant College Coaches Job Security?
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Fox Says Many Schools Will Not Be Able To
Afford To Make Coaching Changes |
The economic downturn has had an "impact on every conference, from the big-budget Big East to the tiny America East," and with "multimillion-dollar buyouts tougher to afford, it is a good year to have a bad season" for coaches, according to Pete Thamel of the N.Y. TIMES. Big East Associate Commissioner for Men's Basketball Dan Gavitt: "The economy is going to heighten the decision-making more so than any time in the last 25 years. The length of contracts and obligations that the institutions have to their coaches is not insignificant to the decision-making process." Univ. of Nevada men's basketball coach Mark Fox: "I think there's a lot of coaches having bad years thankful for the bad economy. Schools just aren't going to be able to afford to make changes." Univ. of Colorado assistant coach and former Univ. of Wyoming coach Steve McClain said that he "wondered if he might still be the coach at Wyoming if the economy were this bad when he was fired" in '07. McClain: "It's pretty hard to justify a $500,000 buyout right now when people are losing their jobs. It's definitely affected what's going on in our business." Thamel noted a school that is "laying off staff and faculty members would take a public-relations beating if it paid out a substantial amount of money to fire its basketball coach, then had to fork over even more to bring in somebody new." Big East Commissioner Mike Tranghese: "Where our schools are really being hit is in fund-raising. I think everyone is feeling it. It's not a good time for anyone." Univ. of Houston AD Dave Maggard: "A lot of places, even the big places, are running deficit budgets today. I think you're going to see some real pulling back and I think some real effort to economize in every way possible." Still, Thamel noted jobs are open at the Univ. of Arizona, Univ. of Alabama and Univ. of Georgia (UGA), and those positions "will probably create a ripple effect, opening up jobs at lower levels." Missouri Valley Conference Commissioner Doug Elgin: "If the economic downturn slows coaching movement because of the high cost of transition, it will likely only be temporary. Coaching talent will always be hotly pursued" (N.Y. TIMES, 3/15).
SOME SCHOOLS STILL SPENDING: In Atlanta, Steve Hummer wrote under the header, "Coaches' Salaries Subject Of Debate: Too Much? Economy Not A Factor As College Programs Reward Their Leaders." The CEO positions in "certain athletics departments seemingly are impervious to any downward drag," and as UGA AD Damon Evans searches for a new men's basketball coach, he "has declared price no object." Evans: "At the end of the day, like any other business, you pay what the market bears." Georgia State Univ. football coach Bill Curry: "It comes down to, what is the value system of the culture? In the value system of this culture, a coach who can go into a high-pressure situation and win big is worth a certain amount of money" (ATLANTA CONSTITUTION, 3/15). View a list of the total compensation of SEC and ACC football coaches for '09-10 (ATLANTA CONSTITUTION, 3/15).
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