Just when my faith in the Athletic Kingdom at Ohio University was wavering, its denizens have restored my faith.
It had been several days, after all, since OU eked out a last-minute win in the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl, and there had been no word about whether Coach Solich was once again going to receive his bonuses for doing what his base salary of $330,000 presumably assumes: that is, that his teams win as many games as possible.
Once again I am proven wrong; that sum covers only the first six wins. It is apparently too embarrassing for a coach to earn less than $55,000 per win, so extra money is required to encourage the coach to go beyond mediocrity (there is no mention of a penalty for not winning at least six games).
I won’t enumerate the other money paid for bowl wins, etc., because my doctor says I need to watch my blood pressure, which is already high enough when I read that the one bonus that perhaps makes sense at a university (player graduation rates) was dropped at Coach Solich’s request because, according to Athletics Director Jim Schaus, “These are some incentives that he was not interested in.”
Oh, OK — so much for the academic mission of the university. Solich also receives a sum for “adhering to (Ohio Athletics) shoe and apparel contracts.” Darn, I wish I had known I could receive a bonus for adhering to OU’s regulations governing student dress in the classroom.
I approach the next point with caution (that blood pressure thing again): We are told that income of about half a million dollars is not sufficient incentive to keep him here; it will require another $275,000 just to persuade him to stay through the end of this year!
A more sane system would require a coach to pay the university if he opts out of his contract, but of course, sanity doesn’t seem to play a role in the wonderful world of the Athletic Kingdom.
Barry G. Thomas is an Ohio University professor emeritus of German.
