NCAA Basketball Coach: Best Job Ever!

A recent article by Andy Katz of ESPN sought to describe the situation that many schools face when they are forced to give coaches large multiple-year contracts. If the school’s athletic director wants to get rid of a coach, he is forced to pay not only his salary, but the extras as well- the vacation time, the bonuses, etc.

In one instance Katz describes, the former New Mexico coach, Ricky McKray, was forced out of his coaching job with the Lobos three years early. He then got a job with Liberty and due to a contractual agreement he will be earning two six figure salaries for the next three years. That’s gangster.

So my question is this: why fire a coach before his contract is up? Basically UNM is paying over half a million dollars for McKray to coach for a competitor. Now I’m no idiot major, but…. Was he really that bad, and will his being fired really help the program that much? I doubt that we’ll be suddenly going to StubHub.com to buy New Mexico Lobos tickets for a Final Four game next year. Who was the new coach they hired anyways, John Wooden? These are universities, not cost-plus Haliburton contracts.

Permalink - Posted in General on May 14, 2007 - Post a comment