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Welcome to Second Guess Tuesday. Here are the opinions du jour.
Money, money, money.
It always has been the name of the game in athletics for years and years. But now? This trend has ascended to another entire plane. Just look around at the happenings that occurred over the weekend.
Take my advice and have a calculator handy.
After only one year of coaching NCAA Division I women’s basketball, Marshall’s Kim Caldwell signed a seven-year contract worth $750,000 per year with Tennessee. The contract runs through March 31, 2029.
Not bad for someone who grew up in Parkersburg and cut her coaching teeth at Glenville State, huh?
So, now, Marshall is without a women’s basketball coach after one wildly exhilarating season that won’t be forgotten for a long time. The only good news for MU? Tennessee agreed to pay Caldwell’s $600,000 buyout at Marshall.
That doesn’t ease the pain for Marshall’s fan base.
But nobody can blame Caldwell. After all, she received the contract of a lifetime. Her seven-year contract is huge.
Then there are the incentives.
Caldwell will receive $400,000 if Tennessee wins the national championship. She would get $200,000 for appearing in the title game, $150,000 for a berth in the Final Four, $100,000 for an Elite Eight appearance, $75,000 for a Sweet 16 appearance, $40,000 for a Round of 32 appearance and $25,000 for just making the NCAA tournament.
But wait, there’s more.
Caldwell gets a one-time moving allowance of $35,000 as well as tickets to various Tennessee sports events. She has a monthly vehicle allowance of $1,700 for two vehicles.
Tennessee also will provide Caldwell the use of noncommercial aircraft for her personal use. She can use it on three occasions for round-trip flights.
Pretty sweet, huh?
Caldwell is scheduled to be introduced at a news conference on Tuesday in Knoxville.
Meanwhile next door, Kentucky fans are reeling over longtime basketball coach John Calipari’s sudden and reportedly imminent departure after 15 years at the helm of the Wildcats.
To be fair, UK has won only one game in the NCAA tournament in the past five years. That’s very troubling in the commonwealth.
Calipari’s record at UK is 410-122, but the knock was he didn’t win enough tournament games.
So, when Eric Musselman decided to say “adios” to Arkansas and head for Southern Cal, Calipari just went “hawg wild” (sorry, couldn’t help myself) and took the Arkansas job.
