Yow's Incentive Earnings Mind-Boggling

Whatever happened to the idea of being hired to do a specific job at a decent wage and then being rewarded at year end by your boss when your performance (or that of your department) exceeds, not just meets, expectations. In college athletics, unfortunately, there are incentives built into contracts for coaches and administrators. These motivations should be the desire of the coach or the administrator. Imagine hiring a coach to lead the football team and then giving him additional cash when his team has a winning season or wins a conference title or goes to a bowl, the primary reasons he's been added to the staff to begin with. It's the norm not the exception.

It's the standard these days to set an extravagant base salary and then toss out additional bucks when the team does things it should do anyway. Back to football. "Hey coach! We want you to head up the football program and we'll pay you hundreds of thousands just to be here. And, by the way, if you have a winning record, we'll give you more, and if you win a championship, you'll get more. And, if your players go to class, keep their academics up to the level that they remain in college, we'll give you more. And, if your players graduate, we'll give you the key to the ranch."

It all needs to be pulled back, if you ask me. Pay the coaches and the administrators a fair wage, and if their teams do not live up to expectations such as winning games, winning titles and graduating players as outlined when hired, terminate the contract and find someone else who is willing to the job at a better level for less. Which brings us to Debbie Yow and the absolutely crazy five-year contract approved by the NC State University Board of Trustees just prior to her hiring last Friday.

Probably the toughest part about being Yow's job as Athletics Director may be keeping a matrix of just how much money she can earn if Wolfpack teams are successful which they should be without incentives for her or the coaches. With multiple incentives for multiple bonuses, the contract is interesting reading, to say the least. Thanks to PackPride for obtaining it and thanks to wralsportsfan.com for running the information provided by PackPride. Below are the details. There's space at the end for your comments, anonymous or otherwise. Mine are already there:
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BASE SALARY
$350,000 based on a 12-month employment period. The salary is in place for five years.

SUPPLEMENTAL COMPENSATION
• N.C. State shall approve payments to Dr. Yow in the form of supplemental compensation in the amount of $100,000 for each year of the contract, contingent on funding from NC State's Marketing Rights Agreement.
• The supplemental compensation will be paid in two equal installments on December 31 and June 30 of each contract year.

TEAM PERFORMANCE INCENTIVES/COMPENSATION
Director's Cup
Dr. Yow is eligible for one of the following bonuses per contract year:
• $20,000 in contract years one through three in which NC State's performance ended during such contract year ranks in the top 50 and $15,000 in contract years four and five in which NC state's performance ended during such contract year ranks in the top 50 or $25,000 for a top 25 in the Final Director's Cup Standings
• These bonuses are not cumulative. Any amount earned will be paid no later than September 30 immediately following the end of the then applicable contract year.

Football
Dr. Yow is eligible for one of the following bonuses per contract year (ties decided by ACC tiebreakers):
• $50,000 in any contract year in which the Football team wins the ACC championship
• $25,000 in any contract year in which the Football team finishes the ACC regular season in second, third, or fourth place
• $15,000 in any contract year in which the Football team finishes the ACC regular season in fifth or sixth place
• $100,000 in any contract year in which the Football team wins the NCAA national championship
• These bonuses are not cumulative. Any amount earned will be paid within 90 days following the date of the bowl game.

Men's Basketball
Dr. Yow is eligible for one of the following bonuses per contract year:
• $25,000 in any contract year in which the Men's Basketball team wins the ACC regular season championship
• $10,000 in any contract year in which the Men's Basketball team wins the ACC Tournament championship
• $20,000 in contract years one through three in which the Men's Basketball team participates in the NCAA postseason tournament and $15,000 in contract years four through five for the same
• $25,000 in any contract year in which the Men's Basketball team participates in the Final Four of the NCAA postseason tournament
• $50,000 in any contract year in which the Men's Basketball team is named NCAA national champions
• These bonuses are not cumulative. Any amount earned will be paid within 90 days following the last game played by the team in the NCAA postseason basketball tournament.

Women's Basketball
Dr. Yow is eligible for one of the following bonuses per contract year:
• $25,000 in any contract year in which the Women's Basketball team wins the ACC regular season championship
• $10,000 in any contract year in which the Women's Basketball team wins the ACC Tournament championship
• $20,000 in contract years one through three in which the Women's Basketball team participates in the NCAA postseason tournament and $15,000 in contract years four through five for the same
• $25,000 in any contract year in which the Women's Basketball team participates in the Final Four of the NCAA postseason tournament
• $50,000 in any contract year in which the Women's Basketball team is named NCAA national champions
• These bonuses are not cumulative. Any amount earned will be paid within 90 days following the last game played by the team in the NCAA postseason basketball tournament.

Other Varsity Sports Teams
Dr. Yow is eligible for one of the following bonuses per contract year:
• $5,000 in any contract year for each varsity sports team that wins an ACC regular season championship
• $2,500 in any contract year for each varsity sports team that participates in postseason NCAA competition
• $10,000 in any contract year for each varsity sports team that wins a NCAA championship
• These bonuses are not cumulative per team. Any amount earned will be paid within 90 days following the last game/match/meet played by the team in the NCAA postseason competition.

ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE INCENTIVES/COMPENSATION
Graduation Rates
• In contract years one through two in which the scholarship student athletes' graduation rate meets or exceeds that of the undergraduate student population, a bonus of $25,000 will be awarded.
• In contract years three through five in which the scholarship student athletes' graduation rate meets or exceeds that of the undergraduate student population and the scholarship student athletes graduation rate qualifies for the top 50% of the ACC public university rates, a bonus of $25,000 will be awarded.
• Any amount earned will be paid within 90 days following the May Commencement.

ACADEMIC PROGRESS RATE
• Eligible for $1,000 for each varsity sports team which is in the upper 50% of the ACC Academic Progress Rate ("APR") public university rankings provided that no varsity sports team is below a rolling 4 year average APR of 925, the sanction level as established by the NCAA.
• The maximum bonus potential to earn in any contract year for APR would be $23,000 currently based on twenty-three varsity sports teams. Any amount earned will be paid within 90 days following the submission to the NCAA of the university's annual APR report.

MISCELLANEOUS
• N.C. State will reimburse Dr. Yow for documented personal moving expenses reasonably incurred by her to relocate initially to the Raleigh area within 12 months of the effective date of this agreement and two house hunting trips, in accordance with standard procedures. As part of the transition, reimbursement for up to 6 months of temporary housing expenses in North Carolina, up to $2,000 per month, shall be provided upon provision of appropriate rental receipts.
• N.C. State shall make arrangements for and provide one courtesy or leased vehicle for Dr. Yow to use. NC State shall be responsible for maintaining collision and comprehensive liability insurance on the vehicle. Alternatively, NC State may provide an annual automobile allowance in the amount of $7,500. Dr. Yow shall be responsible for providing maintenance on any vehicle.
• N.C. State shall make arrangements for one local country club, and State Club and/or University Club membership for the purpose of conducting university business.
• With the prior written approval of the Chancellor, and in compliance with State and Federal law, NCAA regulations, etc... the Student Aid Association a/k/a "Wolfpack Club," any other entity, organization, or individual may provide or fund supplemental benefits to Dr. Yow. These benefits are not guaranteed and the Chancellor's approval may be withdrawn.
• Dr. Yow can earn other compensation from sources outside of NC State while employed by NC State with prior approval by the Chancellor. Activities shall include, but not be limited to, engaging in any radio, television, motion picture, Internet, state, writing or any similar activity, personal appearances, commercial endorsements, and sports camps.
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Now, my take on this
Whew! Can someone tell me what the entire potential adds up to be or, when you think about it, does it really matter, especially if the teams and athletes do so well that her earnings are maximized? Here are my additional comments:
• Are there penalties built in when the football and men's and women's basketball programs have losing records or do not make post-season play?
• Are there penalties for every player who drops from or is dropped from any team for any reason including academics and brushes with the law or for simply not being good enough which falls back on the coach who recruited the player to begin with?
• And, what's so special about women's basketball? Why not baseball or soccer or some other sport that has a chance to operate in the black and not the red. We know that women's basketball, with all its glitz and glamour, is very expensive to operate, maybe the most expensive in the ACC when looking at revenue and expenses together.

Each one of the contract incentives should be Yow's desire for NC State athletics and nothing for which extra money should be paid. I know you have to pay a lot to get the best, and I want NC State athletics teams to be the best, to win games and championships, but this is ridiculous, if you ask me. But then that's the norm for college athletics. Maybe Yow should be gracious and eliminate some of these incentives from her contract just to show her desire to be successful at a job she has been hired to do.