Fresno State exercises restraint in contract with new football coach Kalen DeBoer
Fresno State for years has been handing out bonus money in coaching contracts like it was Halloween candy.
That will change with football coach Kalen DeBoer, who was hired on Tuesday to take on a program he helped resuscitate when offensive coordinator for two seasons under Jeff Tedford.
Fresno State had to increase its base salary offer through negotiations to $7 million over five years, which, sources said, caused some consternation among university officials. But in the end it kept DeBoer in the top half of Mountain West Conference football coaches pay and was able to reign in performance bonuses that were nowhere close to in line with its conference peers.
“We did make it to where it fit into the athletic profile,” said athletic director Terry Tumey, who has reworked bonus clauses when extending coaching contracts in other sports, cutting back on the number of bonuses available and raising the standards to attain one.
“It’s a little more of a consistent note of what our athletics department is all about. We kept it pretty simple that way.”
The Bulldogs have just been way out of whack, even before their deal with Tedford and not just in football.
Consider …
Tedford had bonuses worth up to $2.765 million available annually and in each of his first two seasons racked up more than $1.2 million.
Hawaii coach Nick Rolovich has been second in the MW with $1.287 million available through bonuses. But for Rolovich to cash the largest chunk of that ($1 million), the Rainbow Warriors would have to win a national championship.
Fresno State and DeBoer have not yet finalized a contract. The letter of agreement contains a lucrative bonus package, a source said, but there are around $450,000 in “attainable” bonuses.
Comparing Mountain West coaching pay
The average maximum bonus in the conference this season is $604,000, not including Tedford and Air Force coach Troy Calhoun. (Air Force does not report contract information.)
Tedford’s bonus triggers ...
Winning a division title and advanced to the Mountain West championship game: $150,000 (achieved in 2017 and ‘18)
Winning the conference title: $250,000 (‘18)
In the contract Fresno State had with former coach Tim DeRuyter, those bonuses were $75,000 and $150,000.
Rolovich’s original contract paid $40,000 for winning a division title and $80,000 for a conference championship.
For other Mountain West coaches ...
Boise State’s Bryan Harsin: $50,000 and $100,000
Colorado State’s Mike Bobo: $50,000 and $50,000
San Diego State’s Rocky Long: $25,000 and $75,000
Nevada’s Jay Norvell: $25,000 or $50,000
Fresno State for years has been paying out more bonuses than other Mountain West programs and at higher levels.
2019 Mountain West coaching salaries …
Craig Bohl, Wyoming
Base: $2,137,000 (includes one-time $625,000 retention bonus)
Max bonus: $450,000
Mike Bobo, Colorado State
Base: $1,800,000
Max bonus: $905,000
Bryan Harsin, Boise State
Base: $1,750,000
Max bonus: $1,185,000
Jeff Tedford, Fresno State
Base: $1,615,420
Max bonus: $2,765,000
Gary Andersen, Utah State
Base: $900,000
Max bonus: $480,000
Rocky Long, San Diego State
Base: $878,228
Max bonus: $720,000
Troy Calhoun, Air Force
Base: $850,000
Max bonus: N/A
Bob Davie, New Mexico
Base: $822,690
Max bonus: $340,000
Nick Rolovich, Hawaii
Base: $600,004
Max bonus: $1,287,500
Tony Sanchez, UNLV
Base: $600,000
Max bonus: $260,000
Brent Brennan, San Jose State
Base: $599,184
Max bonus: $210,000
Jay Norvell, Nevada
Base: 500,000
Max bonus: $210,000
Bonuses tied to academics
Fresno State has included in contracts with some coaches three bonuses tied to academics – grade-point average, Academic Progress Rate score and federal graduation rate, including bonuses for bottom-level performance.
Tedford had escalating APR bonuses that started with a score of 935 and a $120,000 bonus and went up to 960 and a $175,000 bonus.
DeRuyter also had an APR bonus that started with a score of 935. That paid $75,000 and anything at or above 965 was worth $120,000.
Rolovich, with the second-highest max bonus in the conference, has an APR bonus that kicks in $20,000 with a score of 960. A score of 980 brings $40,000.
Harsin has an APR bonus starting with a score of 955 – $20,000. If the Broncos post a score of 990, it tops out at $70,000.
Long has an APR bonus that starts with a score of 950, or a four-year score of 940. It’s $15,000.
Tedford and DeRuyter had a long list of available bonuses – APR, team grade-point average, federal graduation rate, regular-season win total or winning percentage, conference success, bowl participation, final College Football Playoff ranking, coach of the year honors.
Tedford also had a bonus tied to total paid game attendance at 130,000 ($200,000) or 152,000 ($300,000).
“We place a premium on the academic performance of our student-athletes so we kept that in place because we feel that is a mainstay for all of our student-athletes,” Tumey said. “But, as with anything else, we want to provide a great experience for our student-athletes and the basis of that is championships.”