Football success means more to Fresno State’s bottom line thanks to Tedford’s generosity
Fresno State won its fourth Mountain West football championship in 11 seasons in the conference Saturday with a 28-16 victory at Boise State and with it, coach Jeff Tedford banked a nice bonus — one that works for both parties.
In a five-year contract that runs through 2026, the Bulldogs coach receives a $75,000 bonus for a conference championship, and added to performance bonuses for eight regular-season wins and a bid to a conference-associated bowl, Tedford already has a tidy sum of $210,000.
But in Tedford’s first go at his alma mater, in a contract negotiated by former athletics director Jim Bartko and signed off by former university President Joseph I. Castro, those same three bonuses were worth $550,000.
The Bulldogs coach also had an attendance bonus then, and with Fresno State selling more tickets in 2022 than it had in any season since 2005, that would have been worth another $300,000, bringing the total to $850,000.
It was one of the largest bonus packages in college football.
And, that had an impact on the department, which is building back its fan base and revenues.
“It’s really a compliment to Jeff and his representation,” current AD Terry Tumey said. “He’s a lifer as a Bulldog, through and through, and what he has done is give us all of his gifts from a professional vantage point and rather than have what could be a pretty heavy lift it is a contributory lift, because there are so many other things that we as an athletics department and we as a football program need to do to get this place to where he envisions it.
“I appreciate our current situation and where we are, because we are moving down the right path, and it’s definitely something that needed to be all hands on deck, everyone had to be a part of that. It had little do with striking a good deal, and everything to do with everybody buying into a vision of what this place should be.”
The differences in the bonuses now and then are stark, side by side.
At or above 6 wins: none now; $100,000 then
At or above 7 wins: $40,000; $150,000
At or above 8 wins: $60,000; $200,000
At or above 9 wins: $80,000; $250,000
At or above 10 wins: $100,000; $300,000
At or above 11 wins: $120,000; $400,000
Divisional champion: $50,000; $150,000
or
Conference champion: $75,000; $250,000
Conference associated bowl: $75,000; $100,000
or
Winning that bowl: $100,000; $200,000
Fresno State in 2017 ended up paying Tedford $2,751,710, and in 2018 it was $3,077,229 and it also was making severance payments to former coach Tim DeRuyter through a contract extension that was fully guaranteed and was negotiated by Castro when president.
In total, athletics department severance payments paid were $1,255,981 in 2017 and $648,156 in 2018.
Tedford this season also has a base salary of $1.5 million, ranking only fifth in the Mountain West.
“As we grow resources, the benefits go to the collective,” Tumey said. “It goes to our coaches. It goes to our student-athletes. It goes to our staff members. We contribute more to the university, so we as a community grow as our resources grow.”
This story was originally published December 5, 2022 at 8:00 AM.