Gags nails it in this piece
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"That leads into the second thing that needs to change, and that’s the university itself.
"First, it does business like this is the 1950s.
"Yes, Christensen was the highest paid state employee after the 2011 season when UW signed him to a five-year contract worth $1.2 million annually. But only $190,008 — his base salary — was guaranteed. The rest was generated by the athletics department and added to his contract.
"In the current market, $190,000 is beyond low. That makes things hard for UW to even talk to potential candidates and their agents despite what the school does to add to the base salary.
"The $1 million mark is market value right now. If UW isn’t willing to pay that, then its pool of candidates dries up. Not to mention the quality of those candidates who are left.
"Burman said the next coach could be paid what Christensen got when he was first hired (around $750,000 annually) to what the coach got after he signed his new contract, or more, based on experience.
"No matter what UW pays, it needs to step into the 21st century in terms of how it structures these contracts with more or all of it guaranteed.
"But there are bigger issues than what UW will pay its new head coach.
"The school’s pool of money for assistants is the lowest in the Mountain West, and its recruiting budget also in the league’s basement.
"That has to change immediately.
"Burman said there is 'the opportunity to enhance some of those areas,' with the next football coach. But he added: 'Those are still finite resources. It’s not like we operate on a credit card. We can only spend what we have.'
A lot of what they have is money generated from the fundraising arm for athletics — the Cowboy Joe Club. That’s fine.
"But the higher-ups at UW need to ask themselves how committed they are — meaning financially — to having a consistently competitive NCAA Division I athletics program."
