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Mar.24

10:54 AM ET

Tuesday, 24 Mar 2009

Larry Eustachy Not Getting Thank You Notes

Posted By:Darren Rovell

Topics:Consumers | Marketing | Advertising | Sports

Larry Eustachy
AP
Larry Eustachy
Last month, University of Connecticut coach Jim Calhoun scoffed at a blogger's notion that, as the highest paid employee in the state, he should take a cut in salary.

"Not a dime back," Calhoun said.

Greg Norman then gave it a shot, saying that the PGA Tour should roll back purses in order to empathize with the average fan.

That was also dismissed. This time a little bit more graciously by PGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem.

We quickly found out that it wasn't going to be easy for sports figures to automatically take deductions because they simply make more. The thinking was, what did they do wrong?

But things drastically changed yesterday when one of Calhoun's brethren, Southern Miss basketball coach Larry Eustachy, rejected his $25,000 bonus that was owed to him due to an attendance incentive.

Sure, his reasoning wasn't that he was earning too much, it was more that he didn't deserve it — while Calhoun thinks he's owed every dime.

But in turning down the bonus, Eustachy — whose team went 15-17 this season — made the crossover to the backlash against the financial world and opened up the possibility of others perhaps giving back some sort of pay if they feel they don't earn it.

"I really compare it to AIG," Eustachy told the Associated Press. "Why would I take a bonus when we went backwards?"

Quite a gesture that I'm sure some of his colleagues are not too happy about.