Coach Johnston Needs 5 Year Contract

[JacksRule]

If SDSU is to hold onto Coach Johnston the SD Board of Rgents better wake up and allow for more than one year contracts with coaches. Wait and see, AJ will be sought after just like University of Green Bay's, Coach Borseth, and money talks. A no brainer to me.

[joeboo22]

Re: Coach Johnston Needs 5 Year Contract

I do think that they should change it but there are alot less desirable jobs in womens hoops then mens and the pay diferentual is alot smaller in womens hoops then mens... And look at Nick Saben and Tim Miles and others what would a 5 year contract do to quit them from leaving I would much rather see them increase his pay by 25,000 a year then to change the rule

[jackmd]

Re: Coach Johnston Needs 5 Year Contract

Contracts don't seem to matter for coaches. They aren't held to the same standard as players. A coach can basically leave anytime. Of course, the can also be fired at anytime so.... I doubt a 5 year contract will keep AJ here. When he gets the right offer the decision will be his.

[Haldersham]

Re: Coach Johnston Needs 5 Year Contract

Contracts don't seem to matter for coaches.  They aren't held to the same standard as players.  A coach can basically leave anytime.  Of course, the can also be fired at anytime so.... I doubt a 5 year contract will keep AJ here.  When he gets the right offer the decision will be his.

I tend to agree. Tim Miles if I am not mistaken had a multi-year contract. Guess what surprised everyone this past week? He is leaving NDSU for Colorado State.

When one coach is successful and leaves, a good program is in place and the number of people wanting to be the next coach tends to mulitply. I know we had a ton of resumes when AJ was selected a few years back. I see no reason it would be different the next time a vacancy occurs. Personally AJ is a great guy, but I see no reason he should give his entire life to coaching at SDSU. He should not have to turn down any offer that comes his way.

[89rabbit]

Re: Coach Johnston Needs 5 Year Contract

What a contract provides is financial penalties if the contract is breached.  If the University lets a coach go early they are obligated to pay him through the end of his contact (unless he takes another job, in most cases).  If the coach leaves before his contract has expired he pays (or more likely his/her next school pays) a penalty back to the first University (or whatever terms the two parites agree to, that is the fun of contract law).

Where coaching contracts really seem to matter is with recruits.  After all the coaching staff that recruited a kid is very important to that student athlete and they want to know if they are going to be around.  I am sure some of Mile’s recruits are upset that he will not be at NDSU to coach during their college careers.  

While it is true that no contract is iron clad between a University and its Coaches it is better then no contract at all.  The state of South Dakota’s year to year is better then no contract, but I think at some point they will need to change this policy if they want to remain competitive in the employment market (as far as coaches go).


Go State!  

[HoboD]

Re: Coach Johnston Needs 5 Year Contract

Im curious where this one year limitation is coming from that is referred to? No where in state law are state agencies prohibited from entering into multiyear contracts. I can point to a number of multiyear state contracts including several labor contracts that are multiyear. The attorney general insists on "funding out clauses" which simply means that if the legislature chose not to fund an agency (not likely) the contract would be null and void, but that doesnt prevent a multiyear deal.

Perhaps the Bd. of Regents has adopted one year contracts as a policy, but they would certainly be able to change that policy if they wanted to if that is the case.

Most state contracts, but not all, that are multiyear have "90 day out" clauses. Some with those clauses also have penalty clauses.

So I believe there is no state law that would prevent a multiyear contract with a coach with penalties for either party breaking the contract prior to expiration.

[filbert]

Re: Coach Johnston Needs 5 Year Contract

Im curious where this one year limitation is coming from that is referred to? No where in state law are state agencies prohibited from entering into multiyear contracts. I can point to a number of multiyear state contracts including several labor contracts that are multiyear. The attorney general insists on "funding out clauses" which simply means that if the legislature chose not to fund an agency (not likely) the contract would be null and void, but that doesnt prevent a multiyear deal.

Perhaps the Bd. of Regents has adopted one year contracts as a policy, but they would certainly be able to change that policy if they wanted to if that is the case.

Most state contracts, but not all, that are multiyear have "90 day out" clauses. Some with those clauses also have penalty clauses.

So I believe there is no state law that would prevent a multiyear contract with a coach with penalties for either party breaking the contract prior to expiration.

I believe the year-to-year contract requirement is state law, not BOR policy.

[HoboD]

Re: Coach Johnston Needs 5 Year Contract

There is no state law that prevents multi year contracts with the state.

[filbert]

Re: Coach Johnston Needs 5 Year Contract

There is no state law that prevents multi year contracts with the state.

I think that personnel contracts are under different section of SDCL than other state contracts but I'll freely admit I'm way over my head here . . .

[Haldersham]

Re: Coach Johnston Needs 5 Year Contract

I have no idea what the law is about single or mulitple year contracts. My take on this issue is more philosophical.

I think for SDSU to start locking in on 5 and more year contracts, is not a good financial move. I think rewarding individual coaches with incentives within the annual contract does give them something to work for.  This has been the case at SDSU. AJ is earning nearly 100k and compared to the rest of the Mid Con, he is being paid reasonalably well. It could be better and in fact it is better than some of other Mid Con members such as SUU where the coach is only getting 50k.

I think we should watch to see what happens in the men's program at NDSU. Will players leave? Probably not, because some will be juniors and are along far enough in their studies and acclimated with the  campus to stay. The next coach will have to build on what Miles accompolished in the past 4 years or so. I think NDSU is in a very good position to hire their next coach.

To me it more about the state of the program, then rather the charasmatic personality of the coach. If the program goes south, no other institution is likely to come knocking on the AD's door and asking to talk to the existing coach about a better job. Then the insitution pays according to the contract while the program either stands still or goes backwards. IMO, this is the peril of multi year contracts.

Until SDSU gets down the Division 1 road further, its probably best to let it be annual contracts for coaches.

[senator07]

Re: Coach Johnston Needs 5 Year Contract

The South Dakota Bureau of Personnel is in charge of contracts for the state employees. They are the people who are in charge of 1 year contracts or multi-year contracts. So we have to go through them to change the rule. I know the SDSU's SA Senate has tried to change this last year, but got shot down right away from the BOR and Bureau of Personnel. They think it is a power trip from SDSU. So we need USD and all of the smaller colleges on board with this too. I think the SA Senate might be trying another push at it this next year so help out all you can.

[Jacks#1Fan]

Re: Coach Johnston Needs 5 Year Contract

Where coaching contracts really seem to matter is with recruits.  After all the coaching staff that recruited a kid is very important to that student athlete and they want to know if they are going to be around.  I am sure some of Mile’s recruits are upset that he will not be at NDSU to coach during their college careers.

You're so right 89Rabbit. AJ will tell you that the main question he gets from recruits, and definitely from parents, is "will you stay" when they are making decisions. They decide on a school on a large number of criteria, but one of the things they want to know most is that will the person(s) recruiting them stay while they (are their daughters) go through their careers.

That obviously doesn't mean much when it comes to a coaches desire to change jobs, but it is important to the recruits. AJ has said numerous times, as well, that nobody is knocking on his door (yet), but he also has said that most of the schools that might come looking would be for programs on the bottom, wanting to get better, and he's enjoying coaching a program that is already strong. All SDSU can do with AJ (and other successful coaches) is try to reward them as best they can financially, provide an environment that makes them want to stay, and them give them every tool possible to accomplish success.

When successful coaches decide to move up, the key is to make another great hire!

[joeboo22]

Re: Coach Johnston Needs 5 Year Contract

Like I said earlier I would like them to change it but I really don't see AJ leaving for another womens program... He is one of the top payed coaches in the conference and there are so few jobs where he would be given the security with the money... And there are so few disirable jobs in womens hoops.... outside the ACC is there a conference with more then 2 jobs that would be more disirable then SDSU? AJ makes something like 110,000 a year, I would like it to go to 130,000 with a 10,000 bonus for WNIT and 20,000 NCAA tournament... You also have to remember cost of living... 110,000 a year is like 250,000+ a year in a city of an ACC/Big East school

And you also have to remember the majority of coaches are hired right after the end of the season and as long as SDSU makes the post season it would be alot harder for a school to talk to AJ

[MacJack]

Re: Coach Johnston Needs 5 Year Contract

And there are so few disirable jobs in womens hoops...

I have to disagree with you big time on this one. There are several big time jobs open. Texas, LSU, Florida, and Penn State to mention the biggest ones. Rumors has it that Gail Goestenkors is the top candidate for the Texas job and Brenda Frese may also be on the move leaving positions at Duke and Maryland. And notice that it is the ACC coaches leaving for other jobs.

[joeboo22]

Re: Coach Johnston Needs 5 Year Contract

Maybe im over stating it but what im getting at its not like mens hoops where theres alot more... my question would be is Colorado State a better job then SDSU in womens hoops?? Is Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Georgetown, Oregan, UCLA, USC, all of those schools are desirable mens jobs but not womens... Tennessee is probally the only school that womens hoops is more desirable then mens and I don't know if you can even say that anymore.... I'm not saying theres jobs that a coach in AJ's situation wouldn't jump ship for but i'm just saying that there are alot fewer compared to mens hoops.