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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Grip on Sports: As Washington State gives Mike Leach a large raise, maybe it’s time to re-examine our priorities

Washington State Cougars head coach Mike Leach reacts to a targeting call on defensive lineman Hercules Mata’afa (50) during the second half of the 2017 Apple Cup on Saturday, Nov. 25, 2017, at Husky Stadium in Seattle. (Tyler Tjomsland / The Spokesman-Review)

A GRIP ON SPORTS • Washington State University announced yesterday Mike Leach had agreed to a contract revision that will pay him somewhere in the neighborhood of $20 million. There are those types of neighborhoods in Pullman? Should there be? Read on.

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• It is the last few days of 2017.

The State of Washington is strapped for money to pay for a court-forced boost in basic education. The colleges are trying to balance budgets that are out of whack, without forcing their students into 30 years of debt.

And the arms race in college football continues unabated.

Is it really worth it?

Before we answer that question – if we can – let’s take a trip back in time. Ten years is all, to 2007, when Washington State parted ways with Bill Doba and hired Eastern Washington coach Paul Wulff.

I pulled up Wulff’s original contract today, just to see what he was paid.

The base compensation for a year’s work? That would be $200,000. That’s right. $200,000.

Now that’s not all the school paid him. There was another $350,000 in what was termed “Collateral Opportunities.” The contract defined those in this phrase: “This supplemental compensation is intended to reflect income paid by third parties to the University for the types of collateral opportunities described” within the contract.

In non-legal terms, it was money from broadcast rights, apparel contracts, that sort of thing, money those companies earmarked for the head coach but passed through the school first. Every school did it to greater or lesser degrees – and still does it.

So, of the $600,000 the school paid Wulff in his first year (he received $50,000 in deferred pay), less than half came directly from the athletic department coffers, most of which is supposed to be accrued through donations from outside interests.

We don’t have a copy of Mike Leach’s contract with the university, even the one he worked off of last season, but there is little chance 58 percent of the $3.5 million he will be paid in 2018 will be in “Collateral Opportunities.”

Much of it, sure, but times have changed considerably in the 10 years since Wulff was introduced.

The die-hard Cougar fan will tell you it’s all worth it.

For them, having suffered through nine wins in four years while Wulff had the reins, the Leach years have been considerably more entertaining. Satisfying even. And, for the school, more lucrative. The football program, after a considerable investment in capital, is making more money than it would if the team was still winning two or three games a year.

But is it really worth it?

That’s sort of an existential question. Is Michigan’s Jim Harbaugh worth $7 million a year? Arizona’s Rich Rodriguez $6 million? Heck, is Nick Saban, whose Alabama team wins almost every game it plays, worth $11 million?

If the bar is “what will the market bear,” then yes. You want to win, you think coach X is the guy to do it for you (and others do too), then, of course the salaries are going to rise.

And in that world, Mike Leach is worth the money Washington State is going to pay him.

There is more in play here, however. Much more.

The optics to the non-sports fan is awful. The school announces budget cuts. Positions are eliminated. Opportunities lost. The athletic department is told to wipe out its deficit and balance its ledgers. And then a few weeks later the football coach receives a handsome raise.

To those without a Cougar flag on their front stoop (and that’s a majority of people in Washington), it just seems like a hell of a lot of money for a football coach. (To be fair, the same can be said of UW’s Chris Petersen and his almost $5 million-a-year salary.)

It doesn’t matter if the money comes through fund-raising – school president Kirk Schulz announced the new deal and immediately took to social media to implore the school’s supporters to dig deeper to help pay for this investment in future success – it still doesn’t feel right.

And then there is the irony of people making 1 or 2 percent of Leach’s yearly salary being asked to contribute part of that to help keep him in Pullman.

Yes, it happens all over, from Alabama to Minnesota, from Seattle to Miami.

But is it right?

No, it isn’t.

Our priorities are out of whack. Just saying “everyone does it” and moving on doesn’t cut it.

Look, I’m no anti-sports, hemp-wearing dude who thinks athletics are a waste of time. Sports have an important place in our culture and coaches are a crucial part of that. Those who deny that are as blind as those who believe it is the be-all and end-all.

But a university’s top priority is to educate our youth, to prepare them for the future, to help make our society and culture stronger. They have a mission, a higher-calling if you will, and athletics is only a small part of that.

The dichotomy of slicing away at one finger and putting a diamond ring on another makes little sense.

It can be rationalized, sure. It can be explained in terms such as “front porch of the university” and “national exposure” and “invigorating the interest of fans.”

All of that may be true. As may be the argument the increase in coaching salaries is market driven. To remain in the top tier of college football, the investment has to be made. It is the price every school, not just Washington State University, has to pay.

One question still remains though, as the cost goes higher and higher, with no end in sight.

Is it worth it?

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WSU: Funny thing. The contract revision for Leach comes at a time when the school is still searching for an athletic director who will be, in fact, Leach’s supervisor. … Theo Lawson has all the particulars on the new deal in this story as well as the news River Cracraft is once again a member of the Denver Broncos’ practice squad. … The women’s basketball team rallied past Boise State on the road last night. … The Leach news also garnered headlines from Seattle and around the country.

Elsewhere in the Pac-12, Washington lost a lot from its secondary after last season but the Huskies are still doing pretty darn well. … Change has come to UCLA but a bowl game beckons. … I’m passing along this USC story just because it illuminates the recruiting wars. … The Trojans also have a bowl game to prepare for. … Oregon State is filling out its staff. … Utah isn’t playing in a higher-tier bowl. … Arizona State heard it from its fans when it fired Todd Graham. … In basketball news, Arizona won last night but may have suffered an important loss. … The leader has changed at UCLA. … USC is looking to score more from long range.

Gonzaga: After a less-than-inspired showing against North Dakota, Mark Few made changes in the starting lineup last night against visiting IUPUI. They worked. Jim Meehan has the coverage, from an analysis of the 30-point win, a story on the changes, the Zags’ weekly ranking and the three keys. … John Blanchette has a column on the contest. … Whitney Ogden has a couple of stories as well, one on Jason Gardner, the IUPUI coach, and another on a milestone Josh Perkins reached. … Dan Pelle has a photo report. … The folks in the office put together this update with highlights. … Around the WCC, BYU’s defense has improved, which can be traced to one person. … Santa Clara lost at home last night.

Idaho: The Vandals went on the road to Michigan yesterday and picked up an 82-52 victory over Western Michigan. … Elsewhere in the Big Sky last night, Idaho State and Montana State won while Northern Arizona lost.

Whitworth: The Pirates will host Wheaton tonight in the Fieldhouse. Jim Allen has a preview.

Preps: Dave Nichols catches up on a few things in a notebook this morning.

Seahawks: The self-examinations following the Rams’ blowout continued Monday and may continue for a bit. But, hopefully, not too long because a game with Cowboys looms and the Hawks have to win to have even a slim hope of the playoffs.

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• The question of college coaching salaries, and what they say about our priorities, is not going to go away. Not nationally, not here. It’s a subject we will touch upon again in this space, and not just in relation to WSU and our other local schools. … By the way, I will be on the radio today. Dennis Patchin has taken a day and I will be joining Rick Lukens from 3 to 6 p.m. on 700 ESPN. You can listen here if you like. Until then …