Saturday, April 07, 2007
Okay, NOW I have a comment!
The fact that the University of Florida is now the first team to ever win the Division I football and basketball titles is pretty big, but that may not be the most significant sign of just what is going on in Gator athletics. What may be more significant is Billy Donovan's announcement that he would remain in Gainesville when the Kentucky job was his for the asking. He didn't even wait until the job was officially offered to him.
This means that Florida now has a football coach and a basketball coach who both turned down the most prestigious jobs in their respective sports -- in Donovan's case to remain at Florida, and in the case of Urban Meyer, turning down Notre Dame to accept his current position. To top it off, both of these guys had been assistants at the schools they turned down.
There are two other points about this that extend well beyond UF. First, it continues a trend that has been developing over the past 5-10 years where the most high-profile schools often don't get their first choice. The pressure to win at football schools like Notre Dame, Miami, and Alabama is tremendous, and the alumni are incredibly impatient. Also, I pointed out in another venue, at Kentucky, Donovan had an opportunity to be another in a line of great coaches starting with Adolph Rupp. At Florida, however, Donovan could BE Adolph Rupp. Florida AD Jeremy Foley alluded to this, saying that he and Donovan want to build a program that will one day be held in the same regard as Kentucky and UCLA.
With coaching money getting so big around the country, a head coach can make $1 million or more per year at any number of big schools, so the dollars offered by the big-name school becomes less important, and the chance at a legacy becomes more of a factor. Donovan is still negotiating a contract extension, but it expected that he will earn in the neighborhood of $2 million a year -- about half what the Kentucky offer was projected to be. It's hard to turn down $4M when you're making $300,000, but a lot easier when you're making $2M and not living in someone else's shadow.
The other point also has to do with money, and I'm sure a lot of schools are relieved that there isn't a $4 million man in college basketball. If Donovan -- or anyone else -- were to sign a $4M contract, you can be there would be a lot of other coaches getting big raises, and the bar would be set that much higher for new hires. This really would have put a squeeze on some of the smaller schools and, IMO, could have led to a split in Division I, much like in in football. There probably will be a $4M coach eventually, but at least it has been delayed for a while.
This means that Florida now has a football coach and a basketball coach who both turned down the most prestigious jobs in their respective sports -- in Donovan's case to remain at Florida, and in the case of Urban Meyer, turning down Notre Dame to accept his current position. To top it off, both of these guys had been assistants at the schools they turned down.
There are two other points about this that extend well beyond UF. First, it continues a trend that has been developing over the past 5-10 years where the most high-profile schools often don't get their first choice. The pressure to win at football schools like Notre Dame, Miami, and Alabama is tremendous, and the alumni are incredibly impatient. Also, I pointed out in another venue, at Kentucky, Donovan had an opportunity to be another in a line of great coaches starting with Adolph Rupp. At Florida, however, Donovan could BE Adolph Rupp. Florida AD Jeremy Foley alluded to this, saying that he and Donovan want to build a program that will one day be held in the same regard as Kentucky and UCLA.
With coaching money getting so big around the country, a head coach can make $1 million or more per year at any number of big schools, so the dollars offered by the big-name school becomes less important, and the chance at a legacy becomes more of a factor. Donovan is still negotiating a contract extension, but it expected that he will earn in the neighborhood of $2 million a year -- about half what the Kentucky offer was projected to be. It's hard to turn down $4M when you're making $300,000, but a lot easier when you're making $2M and not living in someone else's shadow.
The other point also has to do with money, and I'm sure a lot of schools are relieved that there isn't a $4 million man in college basketball. If Donovan -- or anyone else -- were to sign a $4M contract, you can be there would be a lot of other coaches getting big raises, and the bar would be set that much higher for new hires. This really would have put a squeeze on some of the smaller schools and, IMO, could have led to a split in Division I, much like in in football. There probably will be a $4M coach eventually, but at least it has been delayed for a while.
Labels: Florida Gators football basketball sports money coaches
