Wichita State University spent more money on former head coaches in 2023 than it will on the salaries of all currently employed head coach contracts combined this year, according to records obtained by The Sunflower.
Last year, the university spent more than $3 million on payments to former men’s basketball coaches Gregg Marshall and Isaac Brown and former baseball coach Eric Wedge. WSU will spend around $125,000 less on the base salaries of current head coaches for the 2024-25 year.
Wichita State Athletic Director Kevin Saal said that the decision to buy out a contract can sometimes be a better fiscal decision for the university because it can “turn financial components around.”
“If you’re going in the wrong direction from a season ticket … standpoint, you’re going to struggle to make your annual budget as a department,” Saal said. “You might have to make a decision that puts you in a different place with season tickets and scholarship donations.”
Marshall resigned in 2020 after the conclusion of an investigation looking into allegations of physical and verbal abuse to players. The university agreed to distribute the remaining $7.75 million of Marshall’s contract in a six-year buyout plan.
Wichita State will continue to give him $1.25 million every year until 2026.
Saal parted ways with Brown in the spring of 2023, with three years and $4 million left on his contract. WSU will pay Brown $108,000 every month until April 2026.
Wedge left by mutual agreement last February, with the university paying him $675,000 throughout the remainder of the year.
Saal said “a lot” goes into the decision to fire a coach, including academic performance, NCAA compliance, community engagement and competitive success. These expectations are even higher for the men’s basketball coach.
“It’s no secret that there’s a lot of pressure on our men’s basketball program in terms of elevating it and maintaining (it) in a spot that will regularly produce the finances through season tickets (and) scholarship donations that are tied to seat locations within Charles Koch Arena,” Saal said. “It’s critical to our program from a financial standpoint.”
Two current head coaches’ contracts are not listed on the site: women’s bowling coach Holly Harris and cross country coach Kirk Hunter.
The Sunflower obtained Harris’ contract through a records request, but university staff said Hunter “does not have an employment contract with Wichita State University or ICAA” (the university’s collegiate athletics association).
Hunter has been WSU’s head cross country coach and assistant track and field coach since 2009.
Base salaries and contract lengths
Wichita State is the only school in the American Athletic Conference to list its coaching contracts publicly on its website. Saal said this is because the athletics department aims for “transparency and honesty.”
Having these contracts readily available also reduces the number of requests for contracts, which he estimated constitutes about 40% of the university’s records requests.
“We want to be clear in what we’re doing because we think that helps trust and credibility,” Saal said. “And we also want to make it an efficient process for people to be able to look at those contracts without having to request them every time.”
Men’s basketball head coach Paul Mills will make $1.3 million this year, three times more than any other head coach. His contract runs until 2028 and includes a yearly salary increase of $50,000 every year until the final year of the contract when his salary increases by $100,000.
No Wichita State coaches’ contracts are set to expire at the end of this year.
Four contracts will expire in 2026: men’s and women’s tennis coaches Darragh Glavin and Colin Foster and men’s and women’s golf coaches Justin Easterling and Thomas McCurdy.
These four coaches also have the only contracts that do not include a yearly salary increase.
Volleyball coach Chris Lamb’s contract includes an automatic one-year extension at the end of every season until Wichita State chooses to end the agreement.
Benefits
Every WSU head coach contract includes an “automobile allowance” benefit that provides a car from the ICAA’s “courtesy vehicle program” to be used for “business and personal purposes.”
Mills and women’s basketball coach Terry Nooner’s contracts include a $7,200 annual stipend should they choose that over a vehicle. Lamb’s contract includes two courtesy cars.
Saal said the automobile allowance — which comes through a partnership with a car dealership — is a “common practice” in contracts.
Three coaches’ contracts — Lamb, softball’s Kristy Bredbenner and track and field’s Steve Rainbolt — also include a “complimentary” country club membership.
“Access to a golf course is pretty standard as well because our coaches are involved in fundraising, and it gives them an opportunity to engage with donors playing a little bit of golf, and doing those sorts of things,” Saal said.
Saal’s athletic director contract also includes this clause. Neither head golf coach has a golf membership included in their contracts.
Bredbenner’s contract also includes a cell phone courtesy of the ICAA, although she is responsible for a plan and monthly bills.
The university agreed to pay for the “moving and relocation expenses” of Mills, Nooner and baseball coach Brian Green via a $35,000, $20,000 and $30,000 stipend, respectively. Last year, Green relocated from Washington State, Mills from Oral Roberts in Oklahoma and Nooner from the University of Kansas.
Bonuses and additional stipends
Rainbolt, who became the head track and field coach in 2000, received a $250,000 one-time payment at the end of May, nearly double that of his yearly base salary. The bonus was intended to “encourage Mr. Rainbolt to continue as Director on a long-term basis,” according to the contract.
“That is relatively common,” Saal said. “The whole point of the contract is to recruit and retain talent.”
Lamb also receives $30,000 in “bonus compensation” annually for as long as the contract runs.
Mills, Green and Nooner have yearly retention bonuses in their contracts that kick in next year. The three coaches will earn $420,000 combined over the life of their contracts in these bonuses, provided they are not fired by the university.
Mills, Green and Nooner also receive stipends for making mandatory appearances on radio and TV, as well as for club memberships. Mills will earn $294,000 in these stipends this year, while Green and Nooner will make around $30,000.
All coaches have incentives written into their contracts for competitive, personal and academic goals. For example, Mills will receive $15,000 if WSU makes the NCAA tournament, $25,000 if he is named Conference Coach of the Year and $25,000 if the team reaches a combined GPA above 2.8.
All coaches have an amount listed in the contract for how much remaining salary they will receive if let go by the university. Mills, Lamb and Bredbenner will receive the full amount left on their contracts.
Green, Foster, Glavin, McCurdy and Easterling would be paid 75% of what remains in the contract if fired this season. Nooner, Harris and Saal would be paid 50% of their remaining salary if let go this year.
Saal said student-athletes are given a survey every semester in which they evaluate aspects of the athletic department.
Shocker athletes consistently rate WSU coach performance above the national average of head coaches. Saal said contracts for coaches are designed to maintain those marks.
“What we want to do, just like everywhere on campus, is position ourselves to recruit and retain top-level talent to lead our student-athletes,” he said.
