Updated throughout the day with quick takes from staff.
Fresh off shocking the world with an upset of Kansas, Northern Iowa head coach Ben Jacobson is about to get pretty tidy pay raise. Ten more years on his contract, and almost twice what he made this year:
Panthers athletic director Troy Dannen announced the details Wednesday. It will increase Jacobson's annual salary to $450,000 starting next season, with annual raises of $25,000 throughout the length of the contract that runs through 2020.
And... Good for him. Northern Iowa had a great year, and a pretty amazing post-season.
But allow me to rant for a quick second. If Ali Farokhmanesh hadn't hit that ridiculous three-pointer to seal the win for Northern Iowa, does Jacobson still get this contract? Every year, the performances of college players catapult mid-major coaches onto the short list of big programs all over the country. Those coaches either get paid big money at a new job, or they get paid a bunch of money to stay. But what about the players that made this possible?
They get nothing.
Right now, a player like Ali Farokhmanesh probably doesn't care, but down the line, after he's struck out playing professionally and left to search for a real job, you couldn't blame him for wondering where his big payday was when all that magic went down. It's the great hypocrisy of college athletics, where Cinderella stories are big business for everyone involved, except the players at the center of all the magic. And never is the NCAA's hypocrisy as transparent as it is in March. The Northern Iowa coach gets job security for the next decade, and the Northern Iowa star has to look for a job in three weeks.
Something's wrong there.
(End of sanctimony. ... But seriously.)
4 comments
Comments
How much do student loans count
I don’t know about you, but I’ve got a pretty hefty student loan debt that I’ll be paying for many years, as do most people that go to college today. So how, I ask, does getting a free college education not count as getting paid? (Note I don’t know for sure that Ali has a scholarship, but I’m assuming he does unless N. Iowa doesn’t do them).
I’m so tired of this argument, college athletes get paid. At larger universities like UM, OSU, etc, they get educations valued at well over 100,000 FOR FREE. If they don’t do anything with it while they’re at school, that’s their fault.
by Phil Lozen on Mar 24, 2010 5:04 PM EDT reply actions
"If Ali Farokhmanesh hadn't hit that ridiculous three-pointer to seal the win for Northern Iowa, does Jacobson still get this contract?"
Probably. This is what, his 4th or 5th solid season at Northern Iowa? To illustrate my point, Dana Altman gets twice that amount the No. Iowa coach will now get and he has never taken Creighton to the Sweet 16. In addition, they haven’t even won a tournament game in something like 8 years. But over his tenure, Creighton now enjoys huge attendances at their home games and the program is wealthier than its ever been. That is on the coach.
Sorry to take the wind out of your sails on the whole “Cinderella = huge paycheck” argument. Regarding the fairness issue, see above. In addition, all of these players have a choice, Ali could have, say, went overseas for a year or tried to make in the pros, but he didn’t (probably because he didn’t have the ability) and therefore took the scholly at UNI.
by meatybob on Mar 24, 2010 5:32 PM EDT reply actions
Yeah, I mostly agree here
Jacobson was probably getting extended anyway considering how well that team has played recently. Maybe not 10 years, but definitely several.
You know you'll get devoured by Cheaney, Wallace, and Juwan Howard.
by Mike Prada on Mar 24, 2010 5:35 PM EDT up reply actions
Wait, so you mean to tell me that NCAA players
Get go to school for free and when they finish school they actually have to used their degree to get a job? Those poor poor bastards. I will really feel sorry for them on Tuesday when I am sending in my monthly check to pay off my student loans that will hopefully get paid off sometime in 2085
by andyp111 on Mar 25, 2010 11:54 AM EDT reply actions
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