Finances Make VCU’s Win Even Bigger:
VCU beat Duke 79-77 last night. That’s a big deal, but you’ll consider it an even a bigger deal when I take you through the finances of it all. How about this: Last year, Duke spent $8,133,188 on its basketball program. Last year, VCU spent $11,974,399 on its entire athletic budget to support 14 different sports, according to what the school filed to the U.S. Department of Education. As I wrote in a recent blog, VCU is the only school in this year’s tournament to report a loss of more than $1 million ($1.13 million) on basketball last year and consider that Duke made $4 million.
Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski could be the long term loser from a Duke program decline. He makes about $1.5 million in salary and bonuses, but his speaking fee could drop below $40,000 and he won’t be considered as much by corporate America for marketing deals.
The biggest financial winner could be first-year VCU coach Anthony Grant, who, according to my calculations, has made $333,374 this year. That’s including $58,374 in bonuses, factoring in $11,458 for last night’s win. Grant also made $22,917 for the NCAA berth, $3,000 for the CAA title and $5,000 for the championship game being on national television.
Thanks to the Richmond Times-Dispatch, we can get a great look at Grant’s contract:
Annual base salary: $275,000
Length: Runs through April 30, 2012
Deferred compensation: $60,000 per year, goes into an annuity; must stay until April 15, 2009 to collect a portion of the annuity; amount he can collect increases each year he stays
Radio/TV programs: $15,000 per year.
Miscellaneous: Income from basketball camps, use of car; if Grant resigns to take a head coaching job at another school, that school must schedule a home and home series with VCU or pay $75,000 to buy out the series.
Major Incentives:
CAA Coach of the year: $5,000
Regular season title: $2,000
Conference tournament title: $3,000
NCAA tournament berth: 1 month base salary ($22,916)
NCAA tournament win: ½ month base salary ($11,458)
Victories over Virginia, Virginia Tech: $2,500
Other ACC teams: $1,000
Richmond: $1,000
Other A-10 teams: $1,000
Average home attendance: 5,000-5,499 ($2,000), 5,500-5999 ($3,000), 6,000 and above ($4,000).
TV appearances: $5,000 per national appearance, $2,000 regional, outside VCU or CAA package