I want to make a correction, and make this its own thread instead of getting buried on another one:
BTW, I actually have the buyout wrong; I didn't really read the contract front to back until today (skimming it before- my bad), the $750k is actually Brian Gregory's buyout. Contractually it is better for USF since they only owe him 20 weeks of $400k, which is around $142,857 (SEE the BOLD SECTION BELOW WHERE IT IS STATED straight from the contract). They had a similar buyout of Jeff Scott, he had a base salary of $500k, and the buyout was identical and payment amount was $192,000. Now the rub is the Foundation has a larger buyout which no one knows exactly what that dollar figure maybe. The rumors are has high as $3MM and maybe above, which seems egregious because if you compare the recent football coaches contracts and eventual buyouts they are not at that level. The football coaches make more salary, and are compensate higher, but the contract and buyout structure for CBG in contracts are identical for CBG as they were for CJS and CCS. Jeff was being paid total compensation in 2022 of $2.4MM (now before the extension he was slotted to get $2.5MM), and the rumored separation amount was close to $2.8MM (the remainder coming from the Foundation). Which suggests he was getting paid somewhere in the neighborhood of a full year's total compensation, plus the $192,000. Charlie Strong separated for $3.1MM, his total compensation was $2.6MM, with a base salary of $600k and separation amount of $235k, which put him around the $3.1MM (they are getting some annuity from the foundation, which is usually nominal as further compensation so that could equate in the buyout). Below provides details to several of their contracts and buyouts.
herosports.com
www.tampabay.com
sports.betmgm.com
Hoops coaches, certainly at our level, don't get paid nearly as much as football coaches. If we applied the same rationale then the presumption is the total buyout for Brian Gregory would be in the neighborhood of $2MM, the $142,857 from the actual contractual buyout, and the Foundation paying a year's worth of total compensation in the neighborhood of $1.7MM (at his highest contractual amount). If the Foundation is providing buyout guarantees of $3MM or north, and this is before the $142,857, (as some have rumored) of CBG that would be the dumbest deal around. They would be compensating him for nearly his final four years of contract. USF has never done that before and contractually that's out of wack for our level of program, but who knows too since some are keeping tight lipped about where the Foundation deal is in all of this mess. I will say based on recent football team firings the expectation is the total separation for buyout is probably closer to $2MM or less.
Below is the termination language:
IX. Termination by University. The University may terminate Coach's employment under this Agreement
at any time without cause.
A. Liquidated Damages: In the event that the University terminates this Agreement or otherwise
relieves Coach of is duties hereunder for reasons other than ‘or cause, the sole obligation of
the University under this Agreement shall be to continue to provide the Base Salary to Coach
as set forth in Paragraph V above (exclusive of benefits) as if Coach were fully performing his
duties fora period equal to the lesser of the time remaining in the Term or 20 (twenty) weeks
(the, “Liquidated Damages Period"). This payment may be accelerated at the sole discretion of
the University. By agreeing to this Agreement, Coach agrees that this amount will constitute
full settlement of any and all claims that Coach might otherwise assert against the University
and any of its agents or employees. The Parties agree that the foregoing shall not be construed
as a penalty and shall be the sole remedy of the Coach against the University for any issue
relating to termination of employment
I think the bigger thing is after April 1, 2023, USF has to give Brian Gregory this 65% raise, plus other big step ups for the program and assistant coaches. When we consider this fact, it means the cost to run the basketball program day-to-day will increase significantly. I am presuming today that hoops are not a breakeven operation from a pure tickets and revenue to cost (maybe once we add in our conference payout it's a small profit), and it is really not going to see any increase in revenue in the foreseeable future under Gregory. Therefore, costing more to run a program with no foreseeable improvements on the horizon is more sunken costs for the University. The fact he will now be in his final 3 years of his contract after April 1, 2023, also means the University must rationally consider a contract extension for facial purposes. While terms and conditions may remain the same in the extension, the optics are horrific at this juncture. Why is that important to denote, well if we're trying to attract the attention of bigger conferences extending the contract of a coach who is 79-105, and 33-71 in conference, with one winning season out of six is not the way to go about bringing positive attention to ourselves. Furthermore, even if we didn't extend his contract, the optics are even worse because it shows an unwillingness to commit to anything with hoops, and just kicking a can on a program that in most of these big conferences we covet like the B12, and ACC is a sport those conferences think very highly of. They will want a program committed to hoops as well when we will probably be competing with programs like Duke, Wake, and Syracuse. What we do now will be watched closely. We must remember some of our competitors for those spots in those conferences- SDST, Memphis, ECU, Tulane, etc., have shown more life in hoops. I would add, Stan Heath was given seven years to produce, and to Stan's defense he did in fact get us to 2 post seasons in those years. In fact, he got us farther in the NCAA tourney then USF ever had before two seasons before his firing. Whereas Brian is now 3+ seasons removed from his CBI run, Stan was only 2 years removed from when he did the NCAA run and was fired....which we can all agree was less of an achievement then Stan's run in the NCAA's. Stan's last two-year record before being fired, 24-40, Brian's last two-year record before being fired, so far 22-39. Precedent is usually an indicator for future decisions.
If USF wants to continue to be attractive to big time conferences as a future member, particularly conferences like the B12 and ACC, then making a change now in hoops is imperative.
BTW, I actually have the buyout wrong; I didn't really read the contract front to back until today (skimming it before- my bad), the $750k is actually Brian Gregory's buyout. Contractually it is better for USF since they only owe him 20 weeks of $400k, which is around $142,857 (SEE the BOLD SECTION BELOW WHERE IT IS STATED straight from the contract). They had a similar buyout of Jeff Scott, he had a base salary of $500k, and the buyout was identical and payment amount was $192,000. Now the rub is the Foundation has a larger buyout which no one knows exactly what that dollar figure maybe. The rumors are has high as $3MM and maybe above, which seems egregious because if you compare the recent football coaches contracts and eventual buyouts they are not at that level. The football coaches make more salary, and are compensate higher, but the contract and buyout structure for CBG in contracts are identical for CBG as they were for CJS and CCS. Jeff was being paid total compensation in 2022 of $2.4MM (now before the extension he was slotted to get $2.5MM), and the rumored separation amount was close to $2.8MM (the remainder coming from the Foundation). Which suggests he was getting paid somewhere in the neighborhood of a full year's total compensation, plus the $192,000. Charlie Strong separated for $3.1MM, his total compensation was $2.6MM, with a base salary of $600k and separation amount of $235k, which put him around the $3.1MM (they are getting some annuity from the foundation, which is usually nominal as further compensation so that could equate in the buyout). Below provides details to several of their contracts and buyouts.
Charlie Strong's USF Contract: Salary, Buyout, and Bonuses
Salary and buyout details from the contract Charlie Strong signed in December 2016.
herosports.com
USF owes Charlie Strong $3.1 million, per termination letter
The former coach’s notice of termination was provided on Fridaywww.tampabay.com
Jeff Scott Fired: What Is Jeff Scott’s Buyout at South Florida?
Read about Jeff Scott’s South Florida contract and buyout details.
sports.betmgm.com
Hoops coaches, certainly at our level, don't get paid nearly as much as football coaches. If we applied the same rationale then the presumption is the total buyout for Brian Gregory would be in the neighborhood of $2MM, the $142,857 from the actual contractual buyout, and the Foundation paying a year's worth of total compensation in the neighborhood of $1.7MM (at his highest contractual amount). If the Foundation is providing buyout guarantees of $3MM or north, and this is before the $142,857, (as some have rumored) of CBG that would be the dumbest deal around. They would be compensating him for nearly his final four years of contract. USF has never done that before and contractually that's out of wack for our level of program, but who knows too since some are keeping tight lipped about where the Foundation deal is in all of this mess. I will say based on recent football team firings the expectation is the total separation for buyout is probably closer to $2MM or less.
Below is the termination language:
IX. Termination by University. The University may terminate Coach's employment under this Agreement
at any time without cause.
A. Liquidated Damages: In the event that the University terminates this Agreement or otherwise
relieves Coach of is duties hereunder for reasons other than ‘or cause, the sole obligation of
the University under this Agreement shall be to continue to provide the Base Salary to Coach
as set forth in Paragraph V above (exclusive of benefits) as if Coach were fully performing his
duties fora period equal to the lesser of the time remaining in the Term or 20 (twenty) weeks
(the, “Liquidated Damages Period"). This payment may be accelerated at the sole discretion of
the University. By agreeing to this Agreement, Coach agrees that this amount will constitute
full settlement of any and all claims that Coach might otherwise assert against the University
and any of its agents or employees. The Parties agree that the foregoing shall not be construed
as a penalty and shall be the sole remedy of the Coach against the University for any issue
relating to termination of employment
I think the bigger thing is after April 1, 2023, USF has to give Brian Gregory this 65% raise, plus other big step ups for the program and assistant coaches. When we consider this fact, it means the cost to run the basketball program day-to-day will increase significantly. I am presuming today that hoops are not a breakeven operation from a pure tickets and revenue to cost (maybe once we add in our conference payout it's a small profit), and it is really not going to see any increase in revenue in the foreseeable future under Gregory. Therefore, costing more to run a program with no foreseeable improvements on the horizon is more sunken costs for the University. The fact he will now be in his final 3 years of his contract after April 1, 2023, also means the University must rationally consider a contract extension for facial purposes. While terms and conditions may remain the same in the extension, the optics are horrific at this juncture. Why is that important to denote, well if we're trying to attract the attention of bigger conferences extending the contract of a coach who is 79-105, and 33-71 in conference, with one winning season out of six is not the way to go about bringing positive attention to ourselves. Furthermore, even if we didn't extend his contract, the optics are even worse because it shows an unwillingness to commit to anything with hoops, and just kicking a can on a program that in most of these big conferences we covet like the B12, and ACC is a sport those conferences think very highly of. They will want a program committed to hoops as well when we will probably be competing with programs like Duke, Wake, and Syracuse. What we do now will be watched closely. We must remember some of our competitors for those spots in those conferences- SDST, Memphis, ECU, Tulane, etc., have shown more life in hoops. I would add, Stan Heath was given seven years to produce, and to Stan's defense he did in fact get us to 2 post seasons in those years. In fact, he got us farther in the NCAA tourney then USF ever had before two seasons before his firing. Whereas Brian is now 3+ seasons removed from his CBI run, Stan was only 2 years removed from when he did the NCAA run and was fired....which we can all agree was less of an achievement then Stan's run in the NCAA's. Stan's last two-year record before being fired, 24-40, Brian's last two-year record before being fired, so far 22-39. Precedent is usually an indicator for future decisions.
If USF wants to continue to be attractive to big time conferences as a future member, particularly conferences like the B12 and ACC, then making a change now in hoops is imperative.
