When UCLA was courting TCU basketball coach Jamie Dixon, the Horned Frogs responded by doing what their mascot does well. They raised their horns.
With an $8 million escape clause in the one-time University of Hawaii assistant coach’s contract, TCU made it clear that somebody — Dixon, the Bruins or a combination — would have to ante up every penny or he was remaining in Fort Worth.
So, Dixon stayed put and UCLA eventually moved on to Cincinnati’s Mick Cronin on Tuesday, whose buyout was listed at $2.2 million on the USA Today database.
It was the latest reminder that the price of poker has gone up significantly in the 11 years since UH was confronted with somebody dangling a more lucrative offer for one of its head coaches of a revenue sport.
That was when SMU lured football coach June Jones to Dallas just days after the 2008 Sugar Bowl appearance. After nearly a year of negotiations, UH ended up with $210,000.
These days, for example, UH’s highest-paid coach, football’s Nick Rolovich, or the school’s other coaches, could be had for less if a suitor came calling.
According to Rolovich’s last-released contract — and UH has said an extension announced in January has yet to be fully executed — Rolovich would have been able to buy his way out for $150,000.
The agreement states, “…Coach may terminate this agreement at anytime without legal or equitable penalty (including any payment of liquidated damages as referenced below) by giving verbal and written notice to the athletics director at least 60 days in advance of termination…”
The “below” portion says, “If coach voluntarily terminates this agreement without the requisite 60 days notice or to accept a new coaching position with a college or professional team, then coach shall pay the university as liquidated damages a lump sum of $150,000 within 90 days of the date on which termination occurs…”
At UH the amount of the escape clause is tempered by balancing out what the school would have to pay to buy out a coach if it decides to make a change presumably because UH has been considered less of a steppingstone school and more of an end of the road.
In some cases, notably Dave Shoji and Vince Goo, that can be an endorsement, too, but, historically, the school has been burned by buying out far more (Norm Chow, Fred vonAppen, Bob Wagner, Gib Arnold, Bob Nash among them) than it has seen invoke escape clauses.
Remarkably only three head coaches from revenue sports have left UH for more lucrative head coaching jobs in the past 32 years: football coaches Jones and Dick Tomey for Arizona in 1987 and Rainbow Wahine basketball coach Bill Nepfel for San Francisco in 1987.
UH’s attempt to hold Jones to an escape clause was disputed. UH sought to recover $400,008 — half a year’s salary — under terms of the contract since Jones left before the completion of the five-year deal. But Jones claimed he and athletic director Herman Frazier had subsequently agreed to an “out” option for the coach after three years.
Frazier was fired the day after Jones announced plans to go to SMU and no written addendum was located.
After 11 months of arbitration, UH announced it was releasing Jones from the buy-out clause while Jones’ foundation announced a $100,010 scholarship fund donation and an undisclosed donor contributed $100,000.
Assistant coaches, of course, are another matter since the vast majority at UH operate on one-year deals.
Meanwhile, at UH, the high-stakes contract game of moving ’em and losing ’em is something to be watched from afar.
Reach Ferd Lewis at flewis@staradvertiser.com or 529-4820.
