John Shinn
Bob Stoops has done many things for the University of Oklahoma.
He’s led the Sooners to 109 wins, six conference championships, the 2000 national championship and a shot at another one when they face Florida Jan. 8 in the BCS national championship game.
Today, however, he will become OU’s $6 million man.
Stoops is scheduled to receive a one-time payment of $3 million that will push his compensation package to over $6 million for this season.
The OU coach’s contract, signed in 2005, calls for Stoops to earn $2.775 million this year. Of that, only his $220,000 base salary is paid by the school. The remaining $2.555 million comes for personal services for TV appearances, shoe, apparel and other endorsements and $580,000 for speaking engagements and fundraising appearances that is paid by the Sooner Club — the school’s fundraising organization, which operates on private donations and doesn’t use school funds.
OU’s 12-1 season has also initiated an additional $335,000 in performance bonuses. Another $100,000 would be added if the Sooners win the national championship. All told, Stoops could earn over $6.2 million.
Sooner athletic director Joe Castiglione says the coach has earned every penny.
“It’s always important to realize what a special person we have, not just as a successful coach, but as a man of outstanding character and skill that makes him a really successful leader. Coach Stoops has constantly demonstrated all of those qualities,” Castiglione said. “People can see the evidence of those qualities by the consistency of success.”
The amount of success the Sooners have enjoyed over the last decade has made Stoops one of the most sought-after coaches in football. Castiglione came up with idea for the “stay bonus” in 2005. Stoops had been wooed by Florida for the second time in four years and Castiglione was looking for a creative way to reward his head coach.
The “stay bonus” wasn’t a ground-breaking venture. It was a first for OU, but other schools had done it. Texas coach Mack Brown will pick up a $2 million bonus if he remains the Longhorns’ coach through next season.
“There were some schools who had done something similar,” Castiglione said. “I don’t think you could call it precedent setting, but it certainly helped us create the compensation package we needed to show the respect and appreciation for coach Stoops and do the right things to invest in the future.”
OU contributed $750,000 each year over the last four to compromise the payment. Stoops could only receive it if he was still the Sooners’ head coach through Wednesday.
It’s hard to argue the investment in Stoops has been anything but lucrative. The on-the-field success is what most people notice. Winning six conference championships, playing in seven BCS bowl games, including four national championship games, places OU on a very short list of elite programs.
A closer look at the OU athletic department budget shows the true monetary value the program’s heights have reached.
The Sooner athletic department generated nearly $68.7 million in revenue for the 2007-2008 fiscal year and had expenditures of $68.1 million. The football program was responsible for 44.5 percent of that revenue and only 21.9 percent of the expenses.
Whether or not Stoops receives another type of “stay bonus” will be decided in the future. His current deal runs through 2013. But don’t be surprised if there’s another. Stoops’ tenure at OU has been very profitable.
“Our approach is always going to be proactive,” Castiglione said.
John Shinn
366-3536
jshinn@normantranscript.com
