Aloha,
According to USA Today (numbers rounded up), the 25th ranked salary last season was $3.1M, 15th ranked was $3.7M, 10th ranked was $3.9M.
SEC leaders were Calipari at $8.1M, Rick Barnes at $4.7M, Bruce Pearl at $4M and Buzz Williams at $3.9M.
IMHO, CEM’s pay should be based upon his value on the open market, his success at UA, available funds and relative peer comparison.
I don’t think CEM salary should be constrained by CSP’s salary.
CEM has proven his worth and hopefully the UA will be able to offer fair and appropriate compensation.
GHG!
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He needs to be above the 4 million of Pearl. That would be enough to buy all the Diet Pepsi he needs
What I’ve heard is anywhere from $3.5 to $4.5. The first number I was told ($3.5) prior to the NCAAT, and I was told it went up as we got deeper and others showed interest.
Is that the correct numbers? Don’t know.
I do know someone said on here yesterday, that he’d heard a lower number than he expected. So, I assume he heard that $3.5 number.
We will see
I suppose as long as he’s our coach, the number is irrelevant. Just make the number satisfy Coach (and his agent) so he remains our coach for a while. Numbers will always change.
Pretty sure Hunter Yurachek is way ahead of all of us on this.
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I’m skeptical that Arkansas will pay above market and instead went cheap.
I am skeptical that’s one reason this may still be going through negotiation for several weeks now as other coaches around country already locked down.
Beard gets 5 and I’m afraid we went cheap in high 3’s and he only gets to 5 if hits a series of incentives.
He’s likely not going anywhere now and may reluctantly sign beneath his value, but I fear we are showing a program ceiling that will make coach more motivated to look in 11 months.
But incentives/bonuses/benefits can be extremely generous. Just depends on what Musselman wants besides a dollar value.
I don’t think high 3’s should be considered cheap. It would be a roughly 50% raise and put him in the top 15 in the country.
Not saying it’s not a raise.
Team ended up #6 in USA Today.
If we have top 10 or higher elite program expectations, I think after the last 25 years, it is time to demonstrate we are serious in commitment.
I’m afraid otherwise we are showing a ceiling to what we will pay.
I don’t think he takes Arizona for instance.
But if we are showing program ceiling for comp vs others in marketplace who have high expectations, I fear we may be perceived not as a destination but as a stepping stone if not careful.
All said I agree there is a fine line between incentives and showing above market appreciation and expectations for an elite program.
I just find it curious we are seemingly unable to lock down a contract of an existing coach after several weeks of some form of discussions.
It’s a rare opportunity for Arkansas to show seriousness and commitment to elite level and I hope we can do it to coach and University satisfaction.
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At one point I was hearing high-4 with incentives that could take it to $7M. Of course, the devil is in the details and you don’t know how attainable those incentives are. But that would be a serious commitment even at high-4.
My guess is that the attorneys are just hammering down the details and there’s no reason for concern.
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HY knows the value of a good coach, he also knows our financial situation, and what we can pay. If you weren’t called to commit more money to the program, you probably don’t know our situation, either. Let HY handle this, he’ll do what’s best for our program. I fully expect Muss to be our coach next year, and in the future. I’ve stated several times that he wouldn’t leave due to a money issue, so give them the time to work the deal to everyone’s satisfaction. I was told an agreement “in principle” had been ok’d, and have no reason to doubt.
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Maybe a little concern. Let’s just hope the University and Foundation use better attorneys than were used with Bielema’s extension. I do think he will be paid very well. There are some monied folks in Arkansas that love basketball and are likely to help out.
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Doubtful that UofA fans want to step back & relive our post-Richardson & pre-Muss down years. HY realizes that & will pay Muss fairly & adequately to keep him at Arkansas, assuming Muss is happy coaching college BB, views UofA as his best opportunity, & he & his family enjoy life in NWA.
As a finance guy, I look at the numbers & compare UofA to KY which is the college BB benchmark for revenues, attendance, & profits:
During pre-pandemic, UofA '19 revenues were $21M & $11M profit vs $56M rev. & $31M profit at KY. KY sellout attendance is approx. 5k per game higher than UofA (even during our down years) so shortfall is primarily endorsements & other sources. With a winning coach like Muss & renewing a winning tradition, there should be room for revenue & profit improvement at UofA to close some of the gap with KY.
Yep HY probably been working on this (at least with himself) since the season started.
All scenarios; good season, mediocre season, bad season, good wins, bad losses, final SEC standing, SEC record, making NCAAT or not, NCAAT seed, how far in the Tourn, final overall record, etc.
All seems to be in Musses favor now. Plus I’m hearing the Wife loves it hear.
We have the potential to improve our basketball revenue, no doubt, but the biggest turnaround would be in football with sold out, or vastly increased attendance. We lost $500k our last fiscal year, ended June 30, 2020. That included lost money from the NCAA tournament, $2M, and lost baseball ticket sales of about $1M. We’re projected to lose $30M+ this fiscal year, so we still have to make the numbers work in the long run.
Hopefully HY is moving quickly now that AZ has Muss as their prime candidate for their open HC position. That may curtail our inbound BB transfers & recruiting until AZ position is filled.
Who says? I’ve read about 10 who-will-AZ-hire stories and only one even mentioned Muss, and not anywhere near the top of the list. Everyone seems to think it will be Damon Stoudamire.
The one that did mention Muss went back last night to add that Muss’ buyout, whatever it is, doesn’t drop until May 1 and they were unlikely to wait that long.
Who says they have Muss as their # 1 candidate, some message board? They have worse money problems, are facing sanctions, and were only paying Miller $2.8M. My guess is they’ll find a placeholder for this job, deal with the NCAA, and then go after someone bigger in a few years if that doesn’t work out. The only reason Muss goes to Arizona will be that he prefers living more on the western side of the US. They don’t have the support we do, they have another Pac12 team in their state, and can’t pay as much as we can. Their top two boosters read about Miller being let go on twitter, not really happy about it either. Again, money will not be the reason Muss leaves Fayetteville this year.
Only college jobs I’m worried about in regards to Muss are Gonzaga and UCLA.
Guy has a traditional powerhouse program trending into the top 10-15, he’s not throwing that away for a dumpster fire like AZ, who’s facing multiple charges of lack of institutional control.
Luke Walton is about the best they can hope for.
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