Coach rewarded for excellent season...

[IrwinFletcher]

Been awfully quiet on Wisconsin Avenue. Let's hope we hear some news soon....

http://espn.go.com/chicago/mens-college-basketball/story/_/id/9155739/kansas-state-wildcats-reward-coach-bruce-weber-175m-salary

[MKE_GoldenEagleFan]

Doing nothing would be an awful mistake. Frankly unforgivable after the season we had.

[bleedbluegold03]

I guess I am the one person who thinks people should accept the contract they signed. I am ALL FOR performance laden contracts, but constantly restructuring contracts for sports only ever goes in the favor of the athlete? How often does someone state in sports: "you know what? I am not playing up to my contract, we need to restructure down."

This isn't a challenge specifically Buzz, but more on the entire system

[Hamostradamus]

I guess I am the one person who thinks people should accept the contract they signed. I am ALL FOR performance laden contracts, but constantly restructuring contracts for sports only ever goes in the favor of the athlete? How often does someone state in sports: "you know what? I am not playing up to my contract, we need to restructure down."

This isn't a challenge specifically Buzz, but more on the entire system

But college hoops is about recruiting 15 year old kids with the idea that you'll be coaching them until they are 22. If you have three years left on your contract and the school says "we'll talk when it's up," good luck trying to convince a kid you'll be there when they enroll. That's why every school does it this way.

[DCwarrior]

That's why MU and Buzz have a rolling 6-year contract. He'll always be able to tell recruits that he'll be there throughout their college careers.

[dubs98]

Normally I would completely agree with you on this. The only problem at this point is the fact that this adminstration has shown little, publically, to demonstrate their support of Buzz. I don't know what goes on behind the scenes and so I don't want to pretend to know Buzz's thoughts on this. However, at some point I think it would be a smart gesture to extend the olive branch and show some support for Buzz. I don't think he should get a raise every year and I agree that it would be nice to have people actually play/coach out their contracts, however at some point THIS administration really needs to show some outward support for such a great ambassador of the program and the school. IIRC, all prior retention bonuses or raises were provided by the former administration with no outward signs of support coming from the new one yet. I don't think it is about the money, but instead just to have the confidence of the leaders of the university for Buzz is really what is needed at this point.



I guess I am the one person who thinks people should accept the contract they signed. I am ALL FOR performance laden contracts, but constantly restructuring contracts for sports only ever goes in the favor of the athlete? How often does someone state in sports: "you know what? I am not playing up to my contract, we need to restructure down."

This isn't a challenge specifically Buzz, but more on the entire system

[TheSultan]

I guess I am the one person who thinks people should accept the contract they signed. I am ALL FOR performance laden contracts, but constantly restructuring contracts for sports only ever goes in the favor of the athlete? How often does someone state in sports: "you know what? I am not playing up to my contract, we need to restructure down."

This isn't a challenge specifically Buzz, but more on the entire system


What "system?" It happens in many workplaces. You pay people so they are happy and don't leave for somewhere else. This isn't just a college basketball or sports thing.

[IWB]

I guess I am the one person who thinks people should accept the contract they signed. I am ALL FOR performance laden contracts, but constantly restructuring contracts for sports only ever goes in the favor of the athlete? How often does someone state in sports: "you know what? I am not playing up to my contract, we need to restructure down."

This isn't a challenge specifically Buzz, but more on the entire system

It is not that he needs a new contract, but superior performance, production and exceeding expectations deserves a raise, a bonus, at least some acknowledgement of a job well done.

If you were hired at your first job out of college for $22k and you exceed expectations and out do everyone in your company as well as the competition, should you not get a raise, bonus, promotion etc.? At times people will get a company-wide e-mail sent to everyone congratulating Joe EE on a job well done on the Big East project.

[Nukem2]

It is not that he needs a new contract, but superior performance, production and exceeding expectations deserves a raise, a bonus, at least some acknowledgement of a job well done.

If you were hired at your first job out of college for $22k and you exceed expectations and out do everyone in your company as well as the competition, should you not get a raise, bonus, promotion etc.? At times people will get a company-wide e-mail sent to everyone congratulating Joe EE on a job well done on the Big East project.Hopefully, something is in the works and could be announced next week prior to the Annual BB Awards Dinner. One could only hope.

[bleedbluegold03]

Jim, as I stated "I am ALL FOR performance laden contracts." write it in the contract that if you win conference, you get a X bonus, make the tourny X bonus, S16 X bonus, etc...

it's the constant annual restructuring of contracts that I think isn't fair because it doesn't go both ways; perfect example of this is Chris Johnson demanding a pay raise but Jeff Suppan sitting on a bench for $10M a year

---

and as far as the Annual BB Awards Dinner figures, I will rest VERY easy after that is over (7 days and counting...); Van will have decided his future by then and one would imagine that would be a deadline for Buzz as well barring something unforeseen happening.

[IWB]

As I said, I am not suggesting Buzz needs a new contract.

After making the Sweet 16 in 2011, several schools came calling. MU, under Cottingham and Wild, gave him a large retention bonus. (Which is why everyone thinks he makes Top 5 money). It was a one time bonus, they did not restructure his contract.

Since then, a new administration has come in. In that time he has gone to two more Sweet 16s, adding an Elite 8 on to one of them and also won a Big East Conference Championship. In both years, more schools came calling, offering more money etc etc, and he is still at MU. Not saying he deserves a retention bonus every single year, but his contract and all bonuses that had been given to him, or were agreed to, by the previous administration. He has gone above and beyond since they arrived, and it is time the new administration shows him some commitment.

[pbiflyer]

But as has been mentioned, donor money has not been arriving at the same rate as before. Wouldn't a raise come from those sources?

[The Reptile]

I'm no lawyer but I do work with contracts. I have worked under contracts that have had amendments added which add new parameters. Sometimes they replace language in the contracts body. It isn't rocket science.

As for donor money, it would be nice to have but isn't the new Fox deal foe 2x our current TV deal? That should get us by once the revenue commences. If we need a bridge loan we do have $400 M in endowment to hold us over and repay it later.

IMHO, the issues are bandwidth (new conference is taking cycles from both Larry and Fr. Pilarz) and will to get a deal done. I'm sure we can all understand the bandwidth issue. The lack of will, however, is inexcusable.