Anyone looking for evidence that Geno Auriemma might soon walk away from the women’s basketball juggernaut he has created at Connecticut is going to have look somewhere other than his contract.
In October, the 62-year-old Auriemma and the university signed a new five-year agreement that is scheduled to pay him at least $13 million — increasing what likely already had been the highest-paying contract in women’s college sports.
The deal, which USA TODAY Sports obtained this week in response to an open-records request, replaced another five-year contract that had been set to expire in April 2018.
With $2.4 million in basic compensation this season, the new agreement gave Auriemma a $230,000 raise compared to what he made last season and $120,000 more than he had been scheduled to receive this season.
In November, UConn also agreed to a new five-year contract with men’s basketball coach Kevin Ollie that is scheduled to give him basic compensation of $17.9 million. Including a $200,000 deferred payment that would vest on May 1 if he remains UConn’s coach, Ollie is getting $3.3 million for this season — $100,000 more than he had been set to receive under his old deal.
Ollie's new deal also did not reinstate the buyout he would owe UConn if he leaves to take an NBA head or assistant coaching job. Under his previous deal, that buyout was set to expire late last month -- the one-year anniversary of former UConn athletics director Warde Manuel's departure for the University of Michigan
Auriemma’s UConn teams have won 11 NCAA championships, including the past four, and the Huskies currently have a 100-game winning streak. The last coach other than Auriemma to win a national championship is Baylor’s Kim Mulkey, in 2012. She received just more than $1.8 million in base compensation during the 2014 calendar year — the most recent information available from the private school’s tax records. Mulkey’s total pay for that year, including bonuses and the value of other benefits, was $2.1 million. Mulkey also won an NCAA title with Baylor in 2005.
Auriemma’s new contract had several other enhancements, including an increase in the amount of money Auriemma would be paid annually if, upon resigning or retiring in good standing after the 2020-21 season, he chooses to accept a job with Connecticut’s athletics department. Continuing a feature from his previous contract, Auriemma would be able to choose an appointment of up to five years at $400,000 per year (up from $300,000 per year) or a $1 million payment that he would get within 90 days of his resignation or retirement.
In addition, the amount Auriemma would receive as a buyout if the university fired him without cause was increased, and he no longer would have an obligation to seek another job and income that would at least partially offset the amount he’d get from UConn. As before, Auriemma’s pay is not fully guaranteed.
The amount Auriemma would owe the school for taking another men’s or women’s Division I or professional coaching job also increased. That amount is now $5 million and drops by $500,000 each year.
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