About // Advertise //Archives // Contact // Store
Subscribe: RSS Email Twitter

Miller’s buyout could be sticking point for IU

by Alex Bozich in Coaching search | March 27th, 2008

money.jpgIf you browsed the front page of the World Wide Leader’s Web site today, you might have noticed an article by Dana O’Neil about Xavier and their plans to keep Sean Miller. There was an interesting quote from the Xavier AD, Mike Bobinski and his feelings on Miller being interested in other jobs:

“People mentioning his name don’t have a bleeping idea. He’s on this list at LSU. Oh really? Is there a list? Can I see it? They say his name with teams that I know wouldn’t even cross his lips.”

My first reaction to this quote was that if Bobinski isn’t worried about Miller bolting for greener pastures, then why is he even addressing this? However, the following revelation from Rick Bozich of the Louisville Courier-Journal from earlier today might be a big part of Bobinksi’s confidence in Xavier’s ability to keep Miller:

Word I’m getting is that the last time Xavier upgraded Miller’s contract the school inserted a hefty buyout clause into the package. Like $2 million. For the next few seasons. Xavier is a private school. Private schools are not bound to release contracts upon Freedom of Information requests. But my source says Xavier is tired of coaching turnover. The school has lost Pete Gillen (Providence), Skip Prosser (Wake Forest) and Thad Matta (Ohio State) to bigger schools. Xavier is not ready to lose Miller, a young, determined coach.

If true, I think you’d be hard pressed to find anyone who believes IU will ante up that kind of money to free Miller from Xavier. IU is not exactly sitting on a ton of cash in the Athletic Department. I believe Michigan paid big money to buyout John Beilein from West Virginia last year, but the Wolverines have the football revenue to dish out big money. IU has no such luxury.

Reminder: Registration now required to post comments. Click here to sign up for free. You’ll get access to avatars, the ability to rate comments and gain clout points based on the rating of your comments by other users.

  • ricbraun
    I don't buy for a second that IU does not have the funds to go after someone like Miller, with or without a massive buyout. IU may not have a football stadium that hold 100,000 people, but they share all the bowl money made by the big ten, plus since they made a bowl game they get money from that too. Each BCS game dishes out (correct the $ amount if I am wrong) around 15 million to each team that makes it, which is distributed to each team in the conference with the team that made the BCS game getting a little bit more of a share. Two Big Ten teams made a BCS game, Ohio State and Illinois. That means IU got around 1/11 of about 30 million dollars, plus a share of all the other bowl games Big Ten teams were in, which makes that number even bigger. That alone would cover Sean Millers buyout and maybe even cover a signing bonus. That is just one form of revenue that IU gets. IU is a Big Ten school, they have Big Ten money, but they don't spend it. I don't even care about the add-on to the football stadium, that is a joke. also, IU barely spent anything when they paid off Sampson. an anonymous donor (i read Mark Cuban, who knows if thats true) paid almost all of that. Also, IU didn't give Sampson that $500,000 raise he was supposed to get. Where did all of that money go? It should go to a new coach but IU is prolly sitting on it
  • BTOWN40
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9G-ClEDS1Lc
    Here is the youtube video with Tony Bennett regarding his teams matchup with North Carolina. Pay attention to what he says it may answer alot of ?'s about his basketball philosiphy. If IU doesn' try everything to get this guy , then I may convert to a WSU fan. Tony is the man we need!!!!!
  • MPmike
    What happen to Bennett and his offense? WHO cares if you can hold a team to under 70 points if cannot score 50. Pathetic offense that IU don't need. That's why they lost 8 games in the Pac 10 because they are horrid on offense, and Bennett still has not beaten a legit top 10 team yet.
  • Ryan_Btown
    Please!!!! They lost 8 games in the Pac 10 because it's the best conference in the NCAA! UCLA, USC, Arizona, Arizona State, Oregon...Come on!!! Don't be ridiculous right now...They aren't exactly world renown top quality team...they never have been...
  • Ryan_Btown
    And...MPmike...do some research on Washington State and come back to me when you find out how many Sweet 16s they've been to. You can't treat them like a top 25 team when they don't have top 25 team talent and they haven't historically been a top 25 team. THAT, is why they are impressive
  • MPmike
    The Pac 10 is overated!! HOw many teams are left in any tournament with the exception of UCLA- NONE! And I still believe that UCLA has the easiest road to the FINAL FOUR for a #1 seed.
  • BrianK
    UNC has an extremely easy road to final four also
  • Yeah, too bad the Championship isn't being played in Greensboro so that the NCAA could more easily hand the trophy to Roy.
  • Stanford doesn't count now?
  • MPmike
    And I ask how many teams are still in any tournament- (NCAA. NIT, CBI)?
    What only UCLA?
    THe PAC 10 is overated!!! WSU has not beaten any top 10 teams this year? Only quality wins were two top 25 teams- Notre Dame and Gonzaga. They were swept by UCLA, Stanford-three times, and unranked Arizona-twice.
    All that I'm saying is I don't know if Bennett is ready to coach a Big Time program like IU just yet. Maybe in a few years he might build a contender and that's a big if. I don't know if IU can wait that long to tell the truth. If he comes to IU- I only hope for the best, however, I still believe that Sean Miller and various other coaches are more experienced.
  • JerryCT
    Mike - Are you blaming Bennett for all the missed open shots, playing the #1 team at home, lack of athletes at WSU to work with , being upset once by Cal?

    I guess I blame Bennett for 5 academic All Pac10 players, back to back 26+ win seasons working with nothing, 7 National of Yr awards.

    That is like blaming Miller for losing by 20+ to ASU and Temple and also being beaten 3 times by unranked other teams.

    Both guys are great coaches, play the same defense. One has a program built by Gillen, Prosser, Matta to work with and the other has nothing but what he has done himself
  • MPmike
    YOU forgot to mention that Bennett had his daddy, Tony Bennett to help him with WSU just like Tony Bennett help turn Wisconsin around several years ago with a Final Four appearance before Bo Ryan took over.

    Bennett had help too!!!!!!
  • you have to remember how many people iu is still paying off. maybe i'm wrong and it's taken care of, but i think there are still 1 or 2 athletic directors, mike davis, and possibly even gery dinardo on the payroll. and, as a whole, i'm pretty sure the AD is in a pretty deep hole, debt wise.

    now, i will say that i agree with you, partly. i don't think IU has that kind of money, but i do think IU has access to that kind of money. if someone will fork over 550,000 to make a coach and situation go away, someone or a group of someones will definitely fork over the needed cash to bring a good coach in. if we want sean miller, or bruce pearl, or anyone who has a hefty price tag attached, i really don't see that being an issue.
  • BTOWN40
    Tony Bennett...nuff said...WSU 1 recruit in the top 100. North Carolina has 8 guys on the team in the top 75 when recruited. I urge you guys to listen to Bennett's video posted above about how overratted the star system is when it comes to recruiting..
  • jgongora86
    I have to admit even though Washington St. is down by 11, I can see why Tony Bennet is so desirable. To hold UNC to 35 points at the half is pretty impressive. If he can apply that sort of defense at IU we would be able to provide more offensive options for him and eventually become a powerhouse. The commitee better give him a strong look, or I'm going tob e pissed. This is my revised coaching wants.
    1. Sean Miller
    2.Tony Bennett
    3.Anthony Grant
    4. Bruce Pearl
    5. Thad Matta ( would be higher but it would cost us way too much)
    6. Rick Pitino ( yeah I said it)
  • JerryCT
    After studying Tenn last night I saw lots of issues w what Pearl created there. No defensive diversity ( pressure man to man only ) and no reliable offense ie no blockers, all movers . I also see nothing to reccommend Grant.

    FOr me they are no longer on my list but the top2 are fine
  • Raymond219
    I don't understand why Anthony Grant is on so many people's list. What has he really done to warrant consideration? Sure, he has won some games, but where is there a run in the NCAA's to really show the value of that? Hell, I would honestly value a deep NIT run but does he have either? Just because someone is young and up and coming doesn't mean they're up and coming enough for us, it needs to be showcased at a high level like Bennettt and Miller have done.

    How could ANYONE be above Pitino? 1. Pitino 2. Bennett 3. Pearl 4. Miller
  • jgongora86
    whoa there skippy! I'm going on the fact that I friend of mine lives in richmond, and I've seen plenty of his games. I think he's an excellent coach, and he would run the type of offensive and defensive schemes that IU would love. I don't necesarily base everything on how well you do in a tournament ( though I admit it is important). I think people fail to understand is that it's very difficult to get a job at a good div 1 school. Miller, Bennett, and Pitino all recieved their jobs becasue of their family members ( Don't get me wrong their great coaches but thats how they got their jobs). Anthony Grant had to work his bu off to just get a job at VCU. I just think that if Anthoy Grant had the talent that Sean Miller and Bennett had ( and I know comparatively they don't have as much talent as lets major Div 1 schools) that Grant would beat the living crap out of them. It's my opinion, and if you don't agree with me than tough
    titties. ok got to go back to work. I apologize for the bad diction, but I have such a small period of time right now.
  • How can Pearl be on the list after a dismal tournament "run". A game closer than it should have been against American, a game they should have lost to Butler (not that that's a knock) but then not even showing up against Louisville. Is this what you want at IU? I thought we, as fans, were sick of the first round exits? I thought we wanted to make Elite 8 and Final 4 runs, not simply sit around be embarassed--again--by subpar teams. Pearl's off my list. In fact, for the reasons listed above, he was never on my list. Let Rocky Top keep him for all I care. The way Fat Phil is working things, Tennessee is going to be a basketball school in two years, anyway.
  • jgongora86
    man you guys are relentless, but if you look at the time I posted this it was before the louiville game. That said I still want him at my 4 spot because like it or not he does bring a level of excitement to our program, and we could really use a pick me up.
    Thats the way pruce pearl games are, sometimes you can make a deep run into the tournament with that type of offense, sometimes you can't. Thats the way things go.
  • I wasn't going after you, I was more pointed toward Raymond (I feel you're a kindred spirit...IU fan stuck deep in ACC territory). Your post just happened to go up right before mine.

    Like you, I also like Anthony Grant. Unfortunately, he's only had a couple of seasons at the helm of VCU, and with the CAA down this season they didn't earn an at large berth in the tournament, so they couldn't show off on the big stage again. I think, given time, he'd be an excellent decisiosn for IU; however, we fans are becoming bored with the contrite and mediocre and we want to win now, which would not give Grant the luxury of building a program.
  • jgongora86
    my bad man. I was on the defensive. I guess it comes from living
    in acc country ( that or my ex russian girlfriend has conditioned me to be defensive.... who knows (-: . Thanks again for the back up. Where do yo live in Acc country? JUst stay stubborn and be proud of IU through the good and bad.
  • It's okay. The timing of my post versus yours plus the content made it look like I was going after you.

    I live in Durham, actually, but I'm moving over to Wake Forest in a month or so. And, I'm stubborn. I would just like the Big Ten to win the challenge at least once so I can hear these ACC morons on the radio shut up.
  • BrianK
    Pearl is still a great coach. Louisville has been a slow down/half court offense all year, Pitino saw how good theyve been shooting finally and let them run. No team will ever wear down a Pitino team. When it comes to that kind of offense all Pearl could do is watch and learn.
  • sierracoach
    If IU can (allegedly) come up with all this cash they're supposed to be waving at Pearl, Pitino, Matta, etc., I'd think they could come up with the money for Miller's buyout. But everything I hear leads me to believe he's a "Big East guy" and I'm not just referring to his alma mater Pitt. He might be interested in BC if it opens up in the near future, or Syracuse post-Boeheim-or even Louisville if Pitino were to go....somewhere else.
  • If he's a Big East guy, why would he go to Boston College?
  • Kelin Blab
    2millions.....if someone can show up with 750k in a few hours to get rid of KS then someone (Isaih) can show up with 2million to get Sean Miller here.........as we need to do. The guy can flat out coach.....
  • Alright, Kelin. Let's pass the hat. I've got...$0.12 on my desk right now. Let's do this.
  • easy
    Do we have the money to go after Miller? Sure. But, if we get to the point that we're looking at the young up-and-comer, is Miller really $2 mil better than Bennett? No. (Not in my opinion). So who do you choose there? Bennett. That's probably the thinking.

    Most recent thing I've heard from Foundation people (not people on the committee, but people close to it) the target is Pitino. 1. Pitino, 2. Pitino, 3. Pitino, 4. Bennett is how it was described to me. Now, I'm not sure I follow that logic. To me it seems like if you're going so hard after Pitino, then you'd go after Barnes and Matta too before a Bennett type. But that's just my thinking. This of course could be a smokescreen too. Who knows? Just what I heard.

    Now I also heard we are not interested in Pearl or Calipari (thank god on both accounts). Katz reported something similar tonight, that Pearl's arrogance wasn't well received. That's about it for now. But for what I'm expecting: Hard push for Pitino, and if not Pitino then we'll wind up with Bennett. Why? Must not have interest from Barnes or Matta, Miller is more expensive, and Bennett is at least equal to Miller.
  • Xavier has a rule where the school president (Michael J. Graham) must be the highest paid employee. If they give Sean Miller another raise, they'll have to pay their president somewhere in the million-dollar range.
  • xfactor9600
    Uh that's Fr. Michael Graham S.J.

    In other words he's a priest. He doesn't make some huge salary.
  • um considering that it is a rule that the school President makes more than the men's basketball head coach, then i'm guessing that he actually does make a huge salary. John Jenkins (President of Notre Dame) is a priest as well, what do you think he makes? $20K? yeah right.
  • xfactor9600
    Well, I'll let you be the expert then. (despite the fact that Jesuits Priests take vows of poverty generally).

    What does this have to do with Miller at Xavier though? Are you saying that X can't afford to give both Fr. Graham a raise (assuming for the moment your "rule" exists) and Sean Miller.

    Since 2000 Thad Matta got two raises and Sean Miller has received one raise. I don't recall Fr. Graham (or at the time Fr. Hoff) getting raises.
  • xfactor9600
    I can assure you Xavier can afford to pay both men if it turns out your theory is true.
  • hahaha, vows of poverty - that's hilarious. i bet these priests that are school Presidents are driving camrys, shopping at wal-mart, and just scraping by right?

    actually, Xavier may have a bit of trouble affording raises for both President Graham and Sean Miller:

    Xavier's overall Athletic Department revenue 2006-07: $18.5 million
    Texas' overall Athletic Department revenue 2006-07: $105 million
    (http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?...)

    quite a contrast huh? Miller’s salary is somewhere in the $800-900K range (let’s call it $850K). that is 4.5% of their total Athletic budget wrapped up in one guy.

    their total endowment is only $108 million – to be that in perspective, Notre Dame’s is $6.54 BILLION. they don’t exactly grow money on trees at Xavier. i’m not saying they can’t afford to do it, but they are going to really have to stretch the budget and get some healthy donations to pull it off.

    and i'm absolutely shocked that there was no press release announcing raises to Fr. Graham or Fr. Hoff. what, there was no news conference? i'm surprised CNN, ESPN, ABC, NBC, and CBS weren't there to pick up the press conferences live to announce that a Fr. Graham or Fr. Hoff got a raise. you usually hear about those all the time, because it is so news-worthy for a school President (that nobody knows/cares about) to get a raise.

    i know you're new here, but do everybody a favor and get some reading done so you can pretend like you know what you're talking about before you post. thanks.
  • xfactor9600
    I'm still waiting for verification that there is a rule in place that states that the president has to make more than the basketball coach. All I did was state that Fr. Graham may not make as much money as you think he does. I didn't think an analysis of the Xavier's athletic budget was in order to state that. Next time I'll do my homework i guess.
  • xfactor9600
    I went and did a little research on the matter. The last year where i could find complete data was 2003.

    Head Coach Thad Matta made a base of $407K.
    Fr. Graham made $230K. (all of which was latter paid to the Jesuit Community Fund).

    So i guess that indicates that the University President doesn't have to make more than the head basketball coach.
  • JerryCT
    So what we are syaing is we can kill 2 birds with one stone.

    hire Miller AND the president of X
  • JerryCT
    Better yet..........hire Miller, the President AND the AD
  • Charlie Weis makes more than Jenkins.

    Being that Xavier and Notre Dame are both private schools (as noted in the article) they don't need to release their payrolls.

    Generally, Catholic schools (I went to two, undergrad and graduate school) like having priests in the president's chair because then they save a ton of money on paying the president. Unfortuantely, the priest tabbed to be my undergrad's president wasn't ready to take the role on last time they needed to change.
  • Kelin Blab
    I think Pitino would be the perfect hire......then when the Lakers job comes open he can leave for that one at the end of the season and all the recruits we have coming in will want out of their LOI, then Dan Dakich who was kept on staff, will be the interim coach again and we start allllllllllllllll over again in 2-4 years.

    If you hire Pitino, it will be a HUGE mistake.

    We will see soon how interested and how HIGH on the list TB is now that they are out of the tourney along with Pearl. I cringe at the name of Pitino.....
  • BrianK
    I love Pitino and I would of like to see him as Iu's HC....a few years ago.
  • JerryCT
    Taken from the entire system point of view the $ paid to a coach are dwarfed by the additonal $ contributed by alumni when we win. Forget the athletic budget . IU will gain $ from an expensive but successful basketball coach.

    As such I donot buy arguments that we are not willing to pay

    BBUUTT.......Bennett and Miller can create their own legend here at IU. Pitino ?........not so much
  • HoosierInTheVille
    I am a student at UofL right now, but grew up in Indiana and have been a Hoosier fan my whole life, and Pitino is not the guy we need. He is definitely a great coach, but is just money hungry and wants to retire in the near future (like 6-7 years). I thought the consensus was that we needed a young and up-and-coming coach, what happened?
  • I think you're hearing from a minority of folks who want Pitino only because he's a proven coach and because they are used to seeing him beat Indiana badly while he was at Kentucky.
blog comments powered by Disqus

Joe's Bar on Weed Street Poll

  • Will Devan Dumes return to the starting lineup once he's 100% healthy?

    View Results

    Loading ... Loading ...

Resources

ITH on Twitter

Recruiting Classes

Recommended Reading


ONLINESEATS.COM

Looking for great Indiana Hoosier tickets? Check out Onlineseats.com for all your Indiana ticket needs. We have a wide selection of NCAA Basketball tickets, Indiana Pacers tickets, Indianapolis Colts tickets and Indianapolis 500 tickets plus much more.