Is that enough to shut up ND fans?
Article:
Updated: August 3, 2009, 3:06 PM ET
[h2]Gators give Meyer 6-year, $24M contract[/h2]
Comment Email Print By Chris Low
ESPN.com
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Urban Meyer, who has taken the
Florida Gators to rarified heights with two nationalchampionships in four seasons, will see his salary climb to equally exclusive company.
[h4]Money Matters[/h4]
Urban Meyer's raise makes him the third-highest-paid coach in the country. The
Orlando Sentinel reported a comlete list of the 120 head coaching salaries of the Football Bowl Subdivision, citing CoachesHotSeat.com. Here's the top 11:
| | |
1. Pete Carroll,
USC | Pac-10 | $4.4M |
2. Charlie Weis,
Notre Dame | Ind. | $4.2M |
3. Urban Meyer,
Florida | SEC | $4M |
4. Nick Saban,
Alabama | SEC | $3.9M |
5. Bob Stoops,
Oklahoma | Big 12 | $3.8M |
6. Les Miles,
LSU | SEC | $3.8M |
7. Jim Tressel,
Ohio State | Big Ten | $3.5M |
8. Kirk Ferentz,
Iowa | Big Ten | $3M |
9. Mack Brown,
Texas | Big 12 | $2.9M |
10. Bobby Petrino,
Arkansas | SEC | $2.9M |
11. Mark Richt,
Georgia | SEC | $2.9M |
[th=""]
[/th] [th=""]Conf.[/th] [th=""]Salary[/th]
The $4 million club.
A new six-year, $24 million contract for Meyer was finalized Monday, taking his total financial package to $4 million per year and making him the SEC'shighest-paid coach in 2009.
It makes him the third-highest-paid coach in the country behind Pete Carroll's repored $4.4 million salary at USC and Charlie Weis' $4.2 million atNotre Dame.
Meyer's new deal will run through the 2014 season, and there are also incentives involved that could raise his pay even higher.
"I continue to be very thankful and appreciative for everything the University of Florida and the athletic program has done for me and my family,"Meyer said in a statement. "Dr. [Bernie] Machen, Jeremy Foley and the community make this a special place, and I'm honored to be a part ofit."
Alabama's Nick Saban is set to earn $3.9 million this season, while LSU's Les Miles jumped to $3.75 million after winning the 2007 nationalchampionship.
Oklahoma's Bob Stoops is the highest-paid coach in the Big 12 and fifth in the country at $3.8 million. Meyer's old deal paid him $3.25 million andwas set to take him through the 2012 season. Last season, counting $375,000 in bonuses Meyer earned for winning the BCS national title, SEC title and finishingin the top 10, he pocketed $3.625 million.
The Florida athletic department has contributed $17.3 million to the university since Meyer's arrival on campus in 2005.
He's also made a $1 million commitment to UF's Florida Opportunity Scholars Program, which was created by school president Machen to providefinancial assistance to first-generation, financially disadvantaged students working toward a bachelor's degree.
Meyer and Florida men's basketball coach Billy Donovan agreed to lead that charge last year. The goal is to raise $50 million.
"I believe that Urban Meyer is the best at what he does," Machen said. "He demands excellence of his players on the field and in theclassroom. Not only did the University of Florida win a national championship in January, but all 13 seniors earned degrees and the 2008 football team tied anSEC-league record with 37 players named to the SEC academic honor roll. We're proud he's a Gator."
The university recently announced $42 million in budget cuts and layoffs of nine faculty members and 49 staff employees.
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But the state-funded school doesn't pay Meyer's salary. The University Athletic Association, a separate entity that funds the school's athleticdepartment, does.
Florida had been sensitive to recent economic cuts at the university and hadn't rushed to beef up Meyer's deal, even after the Gators won theirsecond BCS national title in three years this past January.
In fact, most of the chatter this offseason centered around rumors that the Gators may eventually lose Meyer to Notre Dame.
A couple of different times, Meyer attempted to quell that talk after saying on a radio talk show last year that Notre Dame was his dream job.
Then Machen said in May at the SEC spring meetings that Meyer deserved to be the highest paid coach in the SEC, adding, "He's the best."
It's difficult to argue with his resumé.
The Gators are 44-9 during Meyer's first four seasons in Gainesville, tied for the third best nationally during that span.
In addition to bringing home championships, Meyer has also consistently beaten the teams that truly count.
Against the Gators' four biggest rivals -- Georgia, Florida State, Miami and Tennessee -- he's 12-1.
And in winning two national titles in his first eight years as a head coach, he's accomplished something many of college football's greats neverdid.
Such legendary names as Bear Bryant, Bo Schembechler, Woody Hayes, Lou Holtz, Joe Paterno, Bobby Bowden and Tom Osborne failed to win any national titlesduring their first eight years as a head coach.
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