The Univ. of Michigan revealed that new football coach BRADY HOKE has signed a six-year contract "potentially worth $18 million or more." The deal for '11 calls for a $300,000 base salary "bolstered by $1.7 million in additional compensation, which includes broadcast, promotional and other payments." The additional compensation "increases by $100,000 each year" of the contract, which runs through '16. Hoke gets a $1.5M bonus after the third and sixth seasons of the deal, and there also are "bonus payments for bowl game appearances and conference championship games" (CRAINSDETROIT.com, 3/30).
MAKING THE BEST OF THE SITUATION: ESPN college basketball analyst DICK VITALE "wants to make money for cancer research with the banner that Venture Richmond created to poke fun at him" for criticizing VCU's inclusion in the NCAA Tournament. Venture Richmond Exec Dir JACK BERRY is "packing the 30-foot-by-20-foot banner in a very large suitcase and taking a VCU alumni charter flight to Houston" for this weekend's Final Four, hoping to meet with Vitale. Vitale is "looking forward to signing the banner for Berry in Houston and using it to raise money for the V Foundation" (RICHMOND TIMES-DISPATCH, 3/31).
NAMES: Mission Hills Country Club and its members announced a fundraising effort for this week's LPGA Kraft Nabisco Championship at the California course. During all four rounds of the event, the group "will donate $1,000 for every birdie and $500 for every eagle and $1,000 for any hole in one scored on the 17th and 18th holes" (Palm Springs DESERT SUN, 4/1)....N.Y.-based GSP Finance, the lending arm of Galatioto Sports Partners, is "suing KPMG LLP, alleging that the accounting giant misrepresented the finances" of TOM HICKS' former sports properties, including the Stars and MLB Rangers. The suit alleges that GSP "lent $67 million to Hicks' sports companies as part of loan deals in 2006," adding that an '08 audit by KPMG "wrongly gave the companies a clean bill of health" (DALLAS MORNING NEWS, 4/1)....Izod IndyCar Series team Owner SARAH FISHER announced on her blog that she and her husband, ANDY O'GARA, are "expecting their first child in September" (INDIANAPOLIS STAR, 4/1)....HBO's documentary "MAGIC AND BIRD: A COURTSHIP OF RIVALS" and ESPN's "30 for 30" series have won Peabody Awards (THE DAILY)....Broncos Exec VP/Football Operations JOHN ELWAY and his business partner, TIM SCHMIDT, plan to open a third Elway's steakhouse in Vail later this year (DENVER POST, 3/31).
