The Board of Regents have released the contract details for Texas Tech new head coach Matt Wells and both coordinators. A-J Media’s Don Williams has a ton of the details and Wells will make $2.8 million with increases of $100,000 each year that tops out at $3.4 million at the termination of the contract in December 31, 2024. Utah State is owed $800,000 as part of the buyout and that will be paid to Wells, along with the tax that Wells would owe, within 45 days of hiring. Wells can earn up to $1 million in bonuses.
The starting salary of $2.8 million would be 47th according to the USA Today salary database, right ahead of USC’s Clay Helton who makes $2.625 million and one spot behind Vanderbilt’s Derrick Mason. I have not done the math to determine where this ranks in the Big 12, but I think that Kansas State just agreed to pay their new head coach Chris Klieman $2.3 million annually with $200,000 annual increases in salary, while Les Miles is receiving $2.775 million annually.
The assistant salary pool is $3.3 million, which is $100,000 less than Kliff Kingsbury’s salary pool from last year, although Kingsbury only used $3 million of the available $3.4 million.
Both David Yost and Keith Patterson will make $600,000 for the next three years, which is really maybe the most significant development. Getting Yost for 3 years is a big deal to me and getting a defensive coordinator for 3 years (i.e. consistency) is a big deal too. According to Williams, both Yost and Patterson get vehicle allowances as well. Last year was the first year that Texas Tech paid a significant salary to an offensive coordinator, Kevin Johns made $380,000, while David Gibbs made $650,000 last year.
In other Regent news, there’s a lot of things happening with alcohol and concession sales, via A-J Media’s Karen Michael:
- The Regents approved the renovation of the Texas Tech football facility, from 50,000+ square feet to 70,000+ square feet at a cost of $1.76 million.
- The Dusty Womble Basketball Center will check in at $29.5 million, which is up from $23 million in the original budget.
- The Regents have approved expanded alcohol sales, so will be able to buy your beer and other dranks at games now and should be ready by the home opener next year at Jones AT&T and possibly sell alcohol this spring for basketball games.
- This also means that if you can sell alcohol, there will be no re-entry allowed, so that means you’re only allowed to drink inside Jones AT&T Stadium. There were some statistics about how there were fewer incidents doing it this way rather than allowing fans to leave. I’d guess that maybe some folks won’t leave, but then I’d also guess that if students are going to leave, they’re going to leave, regardless of the sale of alcohol.
- Hocutt also recommended to slash food prices, things that were $5 to $8 will now be $2 and as someone who has kids who like to eat M&M’s, cotton candy and popcorn, I approve this and appreciate it.
- Also added to the list of things to approve is connectivity for your mobile device, which is almost always a problem.
- I like that Hocutt is thinking about improving fan experience and making fans want to go to games. Of course he has to do that, it is his job, but it would be real easy to just keep things status quo.
- Michael also has details on the new athletic dining facility at a cost of $5.56 million:
Texas Tech athletes are a few steps closer to their own dining facility after Tech System regents on the finance committee approved a total budget of $5.56 million on the facility to be named Cash Family Sports Nutrition Center.
The new dining facility will have 220 seats to serve about 400 athletes, according to Billy Breedlove, vice chancellor for facilities planning and construction at the Tech System. It will include multiple dining areas, an educational kitchen, a full service kitchen with storage, scullery, restrooms, office space and a service area.
The building will be funded through the Revenue Finance System and repaid with gifts to the university of $4 million and an athletics quasi-endowment funding of $1.56 million, Breedlove said to regents at their Thursday meeting.