Contracts and compensation negotiations for two dozen OU athletics coaches were approved by the OU Board of Regents Tuesday afternoon.
The football team received the largest number of raises and contract extensions.
Head coach Lincoln Riley received a 5-year contract worth $3.1 million per season.
Assistant head coach and defensive tackles coach Ruffin McNeil was approved for a two-year contract worth $560,000 a season.
Bill Bedenbaugh, assistant offensive coordinator and offensive line coach, received a $110,000 raise, bringing him to $535,000 a season through 2019.
Jay Boulware, special teams coordinator and running backs coach, received a $45,000 raise to put him at $400,000 a season through May 2018.
Mike Stoops, associate head coach and defensive coordinator, will earn $920,000 a season and his contract was extended through January 2019.
Kerry Cooks, assistant defensive coordinator and defensive backs coach, received a $25,000 raise to put him at $475,000 a season until 2019.
Cale Gundy, assistant head coach and inside receivers coach, received a contract extension through January 2019 worth $430,000 a year.
Tim Kish, inside linebackers coach, received an extension through May 2018 and a salary increase worth $370,000.
Calvin Thibodeaux, defensive ends coach, received a contract extension through May 2018 and his raise is worth $270,000.
Outside receivers coach Dennis Simmons received a contract extension for 2018 worth $350,000.
The regents approved an employment modification for former head football coach Bob Stoops. He will be the special assistant to the vice president for Intercollegiate Athletics and Director of Athletics Joe Castiglione. His contract is good through July 2018 and may be extended. Stoops will receive an annual salary of $325,000.
Coming off national championship runs, men’s and women’s gymnastics coaches also received pay increases and contract extensions. Women’s gym head coach KJ Kindler received a raise of $20,000. Men’s gym head coach Mark Williams’ salary will be an additional $65,000. Both coaches received a contract extension through July 2023. Assistant women’s gym coaches Louis Ball and Thomas Haley will earn an additional $15,000.
With a 2017 doubles national title, men’s tennis head coach Nick Crowell’s contract was extended three years and is worth $153,600 per year. Women’s tennis head coach Audra Cohen received a contract extension through June 2021 worth $115,000.
Adding to OU’s championship collection this year, men’s golf coach Ryan Hybl’s updated salary is worth $220,000. Starting in 2018, his salary increases $8,000 annually. His contract is good through 2022. Women’s golf coach Veronique Drouin-Luttrell’s contract was extended through June 2021. She did not receive a pay raise.
Two women’s soccer coaches received salary increases. Head coach Matt Potter received a contract extension through December 2019 and will receive $194,400 per year. Assistant coach Alexis Vizarelis received an $8,000 raise.
Men’s and women’s track and field head coach James VanHootegem’s contract was extended through June 2020.
Baseball’s new head coach Skip Johnson received a 5-year contract worth $375,000 per season.
Women’s rowing head coach Leeanne Crain received a $5,000 salary increase and a contract extension through 2021.
Men’s wrestling head coach Lewis Rosselli received a $45,000 raise and 5-year extension. Assistant coach Michael Lightner received a raise from $90,000 to $97,500 annually.
Despite winning a second consecutive Women’s College World Series title and being on the agenda for contract and compensation adjustments, the softball coaching staff was not included on the financial and contractual information given at the meeting. Head coach Patty Gasso received a $5,000 raise and a contract extension through 2021 after the 2016 national championship. Associate head coach Melyssa Lombardi and assistant coach JT Gasso both received $7,000 raises in 2016.
Vice President for Intercollegiate Athletics Programs and Director of Athletics Joe Castiglione received a 5-year contract extension. Starting in 2020, he will received an additional $225,000 benefit if he remains employed by the university.
Approximately 20 other athletics managerial personnel received salary increases.
While funding from the state has gone down for the university, it has increased funding of Academic Affairs by 2.9 percent for Fiscal Year 2018, OU Press Secretary Matt Epting said.
"While state funding for the university budget has declined, OU has not retreated from its academic mission," Epting said.
Increasing athletics funding is something many are still concerned with, despite the athletic department being self-sufficient.
“It's in a very different situation,” President David Boren said. “In order to maintain our championship quality we have to be able to keep pace with the competition, so it has to be run like a separate business. We are one in less than 10 universities in the country where the athletics department also subsidizes the academic budget, subsidizes the library, subsidizes a lot of other things. Ultimately, even the faculty salaries (are subsidized) indirectly because we charge the athletics department with a tax each year.
“But then within itself, it does have to distribute its own revenues and increases to assistant coaches each year. This annually happens, and people think we are spending tuition money, spending state appropriated money, but no state appropriated money, no tuition and fees is going into it.”
Updates: This post was updated at 8:48 p.m. to add contract and payment information for assistant football coach Dennis Simmons and head wrestling coach Lewis Rosselli.
This post was updated at 10:54 a.m. on June 21 to correct a statement that said academic funding has decreased. The state funding has decreased for OU, but the budget for Academic Affairs has gone up.
