Bennett could score some upgrades
Washington State University men’s basketball coach Tony Bennett, athletic director Jim Sterk and school president Elson S. Floyd have held preliminary discussions aimed at ensuring Bennett’s return to WSU next season.
The three met last Saturday and agreed upon a basic groundwork of improvements to the program, although according to Sterk the discussions are ongoing and no agreement was finalized.
“We didn’t talk contract per se,” Sterk said. “Tony and I haven’t even talked whether we want to increase the length or what we want to do with that.
“Probably after the Final Four we would sit down and do that.”
Bennett and Sterk will be attending the NCAA tournament finals in San Antonio this weekend.
Sterk said Thursday night the discussions have revolved around program enhancements, including charter travel for the teams, facility upgrades, improvements to the home non-conference schedule and raises for the assistant coaches and Bennett.
“Tony didn’t ask for (a raise), but we thought it was the right thing to do,” Sterk said.
Last month Sterk initiated a fundraising campaign with the express purpose of improving the men’s and women’s basketball programs, mentioning many of the enhancements discussed with Bennett.
The school had described the discussions earlier Thursday as the usual end-of-season conversations held with each coach. The talks take on added interest this year because of Bennett’s heightened profile in college basketball circles.
The Cougars’ second-year head coach has already been wooed by Indiana University this off-season and has been mentioned concerning openings at Louisiana State University and Marquette University, among others.
Bennett worked this season under a contract he signed last April, extending his original deal with the school to 2014 and raising his salary to $800,000. With incentives, Bennett earned nearly $900,000 this season.
The existing contract also contains a buyout clause with the amount decreasing each year he stays in Pullman. The current buyout is $500,000 if Bennett leaves to become a head coach at a BCS school or in the NBA. That drops to $400,000 on May 1. If Bennett decides to become an NBA assistant or a head coach at a non-BCS school, the buyout is $100,000 for the length of the contract.
Indiana’s contract with former Marquette coach Tom Crean, who accepted the position after Bennett pulled out of the discussion, is for eight years and $18.24 million, an average of $2.3 million per season.