Football: UL assistant football coaches to receive bonuses – Farmer’s contract renewed

Tim Buckley, The Advertiser, January 10, 2015

 

UL assistant football coaches “absolutely” will receive bonus pay for their work leading to the Ragin’ Cajuns’ Dec. 20 New Orleans Bowl win over Nevada, Cajuns athletic director Scott Farmer said.

All bonuses presented to Cajun coaches are paid by the Ragin’ Cajun Athletic Foundation support group, not by the state.

“The RCAF will pay the bonuses, whenever we figure out what it’s gonna be,” Farmer said.

Farmer did not know the exact amount of the bonuses as of late last week, but it’s likely to be in line with past pay to Cajun football assistants.

UL’s assistants also received bonuses after each of the Cajuns’ first three New Orleans Bowl wins, in 2011, 2012 and 2013.

UL beat Nevada in the 2014 New Orleans Bowl.

“I don’t see there being any change,” Farmer said, adding the timetable for determining amounts and distributing money also is similar to prior years.

UL head coach Mark Hudspeth is the only Cajun football coach contractually guaranteed a bowl bonus.

On top of his $175,000 base salary and $775,000 contingent premium benefit salary ($950,000 total guaranteed) in 2014, Hudspeth earned an extra $15,000 for getting the Cajuns to a bowl and another $10,000 for winning it.

Hudspeth’s combined guaranteed base/cpb pay climbs $50,000 to $1 million in 2015, in addition to additional contingent supplemental pay and bonus incentives.

FARMER’S CONTRACT RENEWED

Farmer’s contract recently was renewed and approved by the University of Louisiana Board of Supervisors.

The athletic director signed a three-year deal that is retroactive to last Oct. 1, the day after his prior contract expired.

Farmer received a $60,000 bump in pay, bringing him to $210,000 per year.

N.O. BOWL TICKETS

Farmer said Saturday that the final count of tickets sold through UL for its New Orleans Bowl win over Nevada is 11,726.

That’s well down from 18,800 for UL’s win in the same bowl over San Diego State in 2011, from more than 23,000 for its 2012 New Orleans Bowl win over East Carolina and from about 21,000 for its bowl win over Tulane at New Orleans in 2013.

Final bowl expenses for 2014 still aren’t in yet, and won’t be for quite some time. But Farmer said UL still figures to come close to breaking even on the latest bowl, give or take about $10,000 either way.

MASTERPLAN UPDATE

Cement was poured on Christmas Eve and again last Wednesday for the Cajuns’ new athletics performance center that will include football locker rooms, coaches offices and medical/training facilities, Farmer said.

Fencing is now up and prep work also is under way as of Thursday, Farmer said, on new locker rooms, coaches’ offices and the coaches’ meeting room/press box at the school’s track-and-field and women’s soccer facility.

The projects are part of the first tier of UL’s multi-tier athletic facilities masterplan. Another part of the first tier — adding new seats in one end zone at Cajun Field — was completed last season.

TV DEAL UPDATE

UL remains in talks with Cox Sports Television regarding a multi-year deal to broadcast various football, basketball, baseball and softball games.

Farmer said the school is waiting for a quote from CST regarding the cost of equipment to black out various small areas of the country that would make such a deal compatible with the Sun Belt Conference’s current TV contract with ESPN.

“If we can get that,” and as long as it’s not exorbitant, “we might be able to move pretty quickly,” Farmer said.