Malzahn has incentive for victory

If Arkansas State wins a second consecutive Sun Belt Conference title Saturday, Coach Gus Malzahn could earn up to $100,000 in bonuses with incentives and payments from the Red Wolf Club.

If Arkansas State wins a second consecutive Sun Belt Conference title Saturday, Coach Gus Malzahn could earn up to $100,000 in bonuses with incentives and payments from the Red Wolf Club.

Thursday, November 29, 2012

— Arkansas State Coach Gus Malzahn could earn more than just the Sun Belt Conference trophy with a victory against Middle Tennessee on Saturday at Liberty Bank Stadium in Jonesboro.

The Red Wolves’ first-year coach is in line to earn up to $100,000 in bonuses if ASU captures its second consecutive conference title, according to copies of his contract with the school and personal services agreement with the ASU-backed booster club.

Malzahn’s five-year deal, which was signed Aug. 17, ensures he would receive a $50,000 bonus for winning a Sun Belt crown, while his personal services agreement calls for a mirror payment from the Red Wolf Club.

Malzahn, 47, is assured of at least $25,000 bonuses from the school and the booster club for taking the Red Wolves to a second consecutive bowl game, according to his contract and personal services agreement.

The coach could see his total compensation package, which starts at roughly $850,000, reach a maximum value of roughly $950,000 this season. The figure includes a $700,000 salary, bonuses, revenue from television and radio shows, camps and coaching clinics and the yearly value of leasing a 4,690-square-foot home in Jonesboro’s Ridge Pointe subdivision, which Craighead County assessor records show is valued at $505,500.

Malzahn’s deal would place him squarely atop the Sun Belt Conference and neatly alongside Conference USA coaches such as East Carolina’s Ruffin McNeal ($950,000) and Memphis Coach Justin Fuente, who is slated to earn $903,285 in his first year.

Malzahn’s current pay, which is below the $1.3 million he previously earned during his final season as offensive coordinator at Auburn, could be a factor in whether he chooses to remain in Jonesboro or depart for an opening at a larger program.

AL.com reported Wednesday that Malzahn is among a group of candidates Auburn is showing inter- est in to replace Gene Chizik, who was fired as the Tigers head coach Sunday. Malzahn declined Monday to discuss whether he has interest in returning to Auburn.

“I’m focused on what we’re doing here,” Malzahn said. “I’ve got my hands full with what we’ve got going.”

Rick Landrum, Malzahn’s agent based in Memphis, wouldn’t discuss whether Auburn has expressed interest in his client.

“I’ll fall back on the old line that we don’t discuss coaching searches that are ongoing,” Landrum said.

ASU Athletic Director Terry Mohajir said Wednesday he thinks Malzahn “is here to say and that he wants to build this program.”

There are options in Malzahn’s personal service agreement with the Red Wolf Club to ensure his salary remains competitive. The club is footing the remaining $539,104 not covered in the state-line item maximum of his annual $700,000 annual base salary.

“Necessary funds are in hand to fulfill all Red Wolf Club commitments this fiscal year,” Rick Gillette, president of the Red Wolf Club, said in an e-mail exchange. “Based on annual giving history and current commitments, funds are expected to be in place each year.”

A clause in the personal service agreement allowed the Red Wolf Club to establish a pool of money “to house new donations from Northwest Arkansas” that could push Malzahn’s base salary to $1.3 million annually.

Figuring in an estimated $100,000 annually from television and radio shows, money from clinics and the $40,000 “value added” from not paying a mortgage, that would push Malzahn’s compensation to roughly $1.45 million annually.

ASU System President Charles Welch said the pool of money from recently cultivated donors in the northwest corner of the state, which equates to $600,000 annually, doesn’t solely go toward Malzahn’s pay. It also could be used for assistant coaches’ salaries or recruiting budgets.

“We understood it was a situation where he could raise more money for his own personal salary,” Welch said. “The salary we had for him was not as much as he was making at Auburn, so this was a chance for him to make up the difference.”

Welch said it’s also a chance for Malzahn to “open some fundraising doors in other parts of the state we had not been able to access” based on long-standing ties from Malzahn’s high school coaching stints at Shiloh Christian and Springdale, along with his lone season as Arkansas’ offensive coordinator in 2006.

Ultimately, Malzahn has to notify Mohajir if he wants to access the money, and Welch said there is a “clear understanding from our administration and coach that he would have significant discretion."

Up Next

ARKANSAS STATE VS. MIDDLE TENNESSEE

WHEN 2 p.m. Saturday

WHERE Liberty Bank Stadium, Jonesboro

RECORDS ASU: 8-3, 6-1 Sun Belt Conference; Middle Tennessee: 8-3, 6-1

COACHES ASU: Gus Malzahn (8-3 in first season and overall); Middle Tennessee: Rick Stockstill (43-43 in sixth season and overall)

RADIO KFIN-FM, 107.9, in Jonesboro; KKSP-FM, 93.3, in Bryant/Little Rock

INTERNET astateredwolves.com, goblueraiders.com, ESPN3.com

Sports, Pages 19 on 11/29/2012