Marquette to Pay Buzz $2.5 Million?

[HoopsMalone]

http://ouhoops.com/forum/showthread.php?t=21332

Some guy from Texas A&M tweeted this and they are talking about it on the OU boards. 

That's a statement from MU.  Lots to live up to for Buzz actually.

[groove]

Those making the decision better hope they are right and are 100 percent convinced of Buzz or it could blow up in their face. Especially in the short term. Bad timing PR wise.

[Norm]

If true, that's a ton of money for a guy in his 4th year of head coaching and one Sweet 16 on his resume. For his sake, he better keep winning and go beyond the Sweet 16 soon or folks will soon start wondering if he is overpaid.

[ChicosBailBonds]

That's a lot of jing for someone this early in his career. God Bless America

[groove]

I will say this, if MU announces a big contract like that this week, the Cott has huge balls. Whether the allegations we are hearing about are true or not, you can't deny it is bad publicity for the University. If Buzz gets his contract this week that would be an incredible show of faith in Buzz. Would be a lot easier to not announce an agreement until later.

[ChicosBailBonds]

Wasn't Izzo at $2.6M?  Considering what he has accomplished, I'm sure some of these salaries are eye opening to him

[El Duderino]

I will say this, if MU announces a big contract like that this week, the Cott has huge balls. Whether the allegations we are hearing about are true or not, you can't deny it is bad publicity for the University. If Buzz gets his contract this week that would be an incredible show of faith in Buzz. Would be a lot easier to not announce an agreement until later.

Why would it be better to wait if the dollar figure is true?

My guess is that many strong or even casual fans of Marquette basketball would take the view of 2.5 million probably being excessive for a guy in only his third year and no Final Four or title game berth like say Shaka Smart has, but in the end they'd like to see Buzz stay and they aren't the ones writing the check to Buzz.

That's the way i'd view it and when i was talking to my good buddy, i told him what i read and his view was wow that's a lot of coin, but at least he's staying. Sure the super hardcore MU fans that spend their time on a forum like this one may go the route of saying that's crazy and comparing what Buzz makes in relation to other more proven coaches, but the other 95-98 percent of fans don't know and don't really care what Buzz makes so long as the team wins games. Some might do an initial wow double take like my friend did if news came out about what Buzz now makes, but 5-10 minutes later they'll forget about it and move on to thinking about all the everyday stuff they normally are thinking about.

[HoopsMalone]

I don't think MU has to say what Buzz is making.  I assume they file as a non-profit and would likely have to report Buzz's salary since it would be a top salary.  I could be wrong though.

[TJ]

I think this report has to be false.  $2.5 million is excessive.  I hope it's less than that.  I don't really care at the end of the day, but that's excessive and unnecessary.  Especially because I think/thought Buzz was staying because he likes MU and wants to be here - to me $2.5 million sounds more like MU is trying to convince him to stay than paying fair value.  It also sets an unrealistic precedent that I don't think we should be setting - what if there is a need to hire a new coach within a few years (hopefully not)?

[HoopsMalone]

I think this report has to be false.  $2.5 million is excessive.  I hope it's less than that.  I don't really care at the end of the day, but that's excessive and unnecessary.  Especially because I think/thought Buzz was staying because he likes MU and wants to be here - to me $2.5 million sounds more like MU is trying to convince him to stay than paying fair value.  It also sets an unrealistic precedent that I don't think we should be setting - what if there is a need to hire a new coach within a few years (hopefully not)?

Disagree.  Let recruits know that Buzz won't be leaving unless there is a no brainer opening.  Let every tabloid caliber article know that Marquette is a big money program and include the salary in their "rumors."

Also, let's attract talent to our coaching staff if/when Buzz leaves.  Who cares if a Brad Stevens is motivated by money. 

[TJ]

Disagree.  Let recruits know that Buzz won't be leaving unless there is a no brainer opening.  Let every tabloid caliber article know that Marquette is a big money program and include the salary in their "rumors."

There's something to this I guess, but it gives the wrong impression in my opinion.  I would like to be able to say that Buzz wants to be here no matter what the money, as opposed to saying that Buzz couldn't possibly get more money elsewhere.  Semantics I guess, one is just a more expensive way to say the same thing.

Also, let's attract talent to our coaching staff if/when Buzz leaves.  Who cares if a Brad Stevens is motivated by money. 

I know there's more to it than just basketball results, but if we pay Buzz $2.5 million for his results to date, Brad Stevens deserves $5 million.  That's the precedent I have minor reservations about - $2.5 million for a 3-3 tournament record means anyone with any resume at all is going to cost that as well.  (Or more - this number is for the guy already here, not for a guy we might be trying to lure away from somewhere else.)

[nycwarrior]

With respect, I see it a little differently.

I think the sticker shock of either $2 million or $2.5 million grabs headlines because it's so much more than most of us make. It seems gaudy that a basketball coach makes more than Marquette's best professors or most trusted deans. Especially if that coach is young and, in the eyes of many, unproven.

All true but not the point.

As I posted a couple weeks ago, Marquette basketball has been wildly inconsistent in the three-and-a-half decades since Al McGuire stopped coaching guys in short pants. For all of our program's proud heritage we've advanced to four Sweet 16s and two mid-major conference championships since Al retired.

Our two best coaches since Al have left for greener pastures. KO and Crean both did great things to wake up the Warrior tradition but, in the end, they thought they needed to go elsewhere to go to "the next level."

Thanks to the efforts of those coaches, and a university administration that seems to have learned from the painful era that resulted from trying to do things the cheap way, we now have a number of assets that make our program feel big time.

Despite it's widely reported tourney troubles and the specter of impending football finance schism, the Big East is big time basketball. It's on a level that far surpasses the 1980s Catholic independent, Great Midwest or Conference USA anchor that we were in the past.

The Al is a great facility which seems to be an ideal environment for someone like Todd Smith to transform bodies. If you have a look at the strength and speed improvements that guys from Chris and Junior have made to the leaps and bounds Wes took, you can tell we're doing something right there.

If Buzz had left, these tools would have remained, giving us a good chance of landing a legit new coach. However, I think Buzz staying provides something we've lacked for decades - an opportunity for consistency.

In a world where most people pay a lot less attention to college basektball than most of us, it pays to be in the big dance every year. It pays to be playing on Friday and Saturday in the Big East Tourney. It pays to put players in the NBA.

Crean started that and Buzz has kept it up. For the casual fan and the perspective recruit outside Wisconsin, Marquette has much more relevance and name recognition that it did a dozen years ago.

The opportunity for the university is to extend it streak of NCAA appearances, increase its performance in the Big East and make a decent run in the dance more than once a decade.

To do all that, Marquette needs stability at the top of the program. All of oft-circulated debate about one's personal feelings in the Crean vs Buzz debate is a waste of time. The point is that Crean led to Buzz. And, between them, we've been able to sustain respectability in the Big East and a presence on our beloved sport's grandest stage.

So the question of what to pay Buzz actually has very little to do with what Shaka or Brad are doing or earning. Those guys are brilliant. And they walked into atypical situations and delivered. Would one of them be great at MU? Probably. Would we be their first choice? Maybe. Maybe not. We don't know because we're not yet a "sure thing." Why would they leave for anything less than a sure thing when they've had success where they are?

In the context of the business that is Marquette Athletics, I would have made the call Cottingham appears to have made. You have a coach who has managed to bridge the gap between one of MU's great recruiting classes (the Big Three) by cobbling together classes of JuCos and now has a new generation of longer, athletic and highly regarded Warriors-in-training.

The only bottom line that matter isn't Buzz's paycheck. The bottom line is that if it's worth keeping Buzz around, the stakes of the game are much, much higher that $500,000 either way. The sticker shock of the $2.5 million is a red herring. It's a distraction. If you don't keep Buzz you don't save the $2.5 million. You've gotta go find someone else and likely pay them a seven figure salary.

If that extra $500,000 makes Buzz appear to be more likely to stay to recruits, to non-elite headhunters, to the press, I'd say it's worth every penny.

GO WARRIORS. Take a break. Hit the gym.

For God's sake get Vander and Junior locked into a gym with Steve 96-three-pointers-in-a-row Novak for 8 hours a day.

Get all those youngbloods in the gym with Mr. Smith.

And get us another 6-8 plus guy who like the taste of sweat and rebounds in traffic.

GRRRRRR.

[Tugg Speedman]

Why do we do this?

Some guy on the Oklahoma boards tweets $2.5 million and now that is Buzz's pay and we discuss.

Do you want the list of incorrect tweets from OU boards in alphabetic or chronological order?  Remember the one that said Buzz's dream job was Oklahoma state.

Meanwhile, Rosiak has all but announced he talks to Cotts and Buzz and then post blogs, has been about 100% right on everything in this matter (despite the 200 other reports he has been wrong), says something different.

---

Rosiak:

http://www.jsonline.com/blogs/sports/118803149.html

The guess here is it's going to be a deal worth more than $2 million annually. How it will be structured -- whether it's another rollover contract, how much the buyout will be and so on -- will probably be the major sticking points. He's currently signed to a six-year rollover deal paying him $1.6 million. That figure is scheduled to jump to over $1.7 million in the coming months.

Undoubtedly, Williams would like the buyout in his new contract to be lower than the figure that it would take to get him out of his current deal: $3.8 million, all told. It's standard in contracts for the buyout to drop every few years in order to afford the coach some flexibility as time goes on, so looking for something like that to be included wouldn't be out of the ordinary from Williams' standpoint.

MU, from its vantage point, has no problem paying the going rate for a hot young coach like Williams. The school proved that with Tom Crean years ago. The key will be structuring the deal in such a way that it can protect itself somewhat in the coming years, as Williams will likely be a popular name for most coaching vacancies that pop up each off-season, just as he is now, and like Crean was.

Both parties appear to be on the same page, and Williams after MU's loss last Friday appeared in no way interested in moving on. Things can obviously change, and nothing is set in stone until an agreement is announced. But my guess is something will come together at some point over the course of this week, and the carousel can finally stop spinning in Milwaukee.

---

Let make this very clear on the Buzz contract/job matter ...

Rosiak = correct, only reporter that has a clue and is close to correct.  Maybe because he talks to Cotts and Buzz

Rest of reporters/bloggers/tweeters on planet earth = no idea what they are talking about, never right and largely embarrass themselves.  Maybe because they do not know who Cottingham is and have never talked to Buzz.

[DCWarriors04]

Who cares if Buzz gets paid 2 or 2.5 million...either way Marquette is stepping up and trying to protect itself and make it harder for other schools out there to grab Buzz. Had Marquette not paid him the money and he left for some other school offering more than Marquette then a lot of people on this board would be crying over how cheap Marquette is or something else.

Is Buzz worth 2.5 million...that's not my call or any of our calls to make. Has he made it to a Final Four or Championship game...no, but Tom "Judas" Crean did a good job of leaving the cupboard empty for him after the Big 3 left and all Buzz has managed to do is continue our streak of tournament appearances. At the same time, Buzz is also getting some decent recruits that has the future of Marquette basketball looking better and better.

[willie warrior]

If true, that's a ton of money for a guy in his 4th year of head coaching and one Sweet 16 on his resume. For his sake, he better keep winning and go beyond the Sweet 16 soon or folks will soon start wondering if he is overpaid.

Absolutely, and there better be some big time progress in Conference record, scheduling, recruiting big time studs, and dance progress---and please spare the excuses--2.5 million zoidies?? That is big time cash!!!

[Fullodds]

Sounds good to me. 

[Blackhat]

Billy Luicci from A&M is legit.  Has connections.

2.5- That's some good cheddar.  Buzz is in the big leagues as far as compensation.  MU needs to get their money's worth in publicity, attendance, etc.

[GGGG]

Is Buzz worth 2.5 million...that's not my call or any of our calls to make. Has he made it to a Final Four or Championship game...no, but Tom "Judas" Crean did a good job of leaving the cupboard empty for him after the Big 3 left and all Buzz has managed to do is continue our streak of tournament appearances. At the same time, Buzz is also getting some decent recruits that has the future of Marquette basketball looking better and better.

You may not have liked how he left, and you may not have liked him while he was here, but the "Judas" label for Crean is completely misplaced.

[MerrittsMustache]

I'd be willing to coach MU for half that. You have my number, Cottingham.

[Goose]

I am glad they are paying Buzz this kind of money. Obviously they believe Buzz has the skill set to take us to the next level. Only a scared or incompetent AD would pay this kind of a money for the wrong guy. I am betting that AD and school are swinging for the fences.

[HoopsMalone]

Why do we do this?

Some guy on the Oklahoma boards tweets $2.5 million and now that is Buzz's pay and we discuss.

Do you want the list of incorrect tweets from OU boards in alphabetic or chronological order?  Remember the one that said Buzz's dream job was Oklahoma state.

Meanwhile, Rosiak has all but announced he talks to Cotts and Buzz and then post blogs, has been about 100% right on everything in this matter (despite the 200 other reports he has been wrong), says something different.

---

Rosiak:

http://www.jsonline.com/blogs/sports/118803149.html

The guess here is it's going to be a deal worth more than $2 million annually. How it will be structured -- whether it's another rollover contract, how much the buyout will be and so on -- will probably be the major sticking points. He's currently signed to a six-year rollover deal paying him $1.6 million. That figure is scheduled to jump to over $1.7 million in the coming months.

Undoubtedly, Williams would like the buyout in his new contract to be lower than the figure that it would take to get him out of his current deal: $3.8 million, all told. It's standard in contracts for the buyout to drop every few years in order to afford the coach some flexibility as time goes on, so looking for something like that to be included wouldn't be out of the ordinary from Williams' standpoint.

MU, from its vantage point, has no problem paying the going rate for a hot young coach like Williams. The school proved that with Tom Crean years ago. The key will be structuring the deal in such a way that it can protect itself somewhat in the coming years, as Williams will likely be a popular name for most coaching vacancies that pop up each off-season, just as he is now, and like Crean was.

Both parties appear to be on the same page, and Williams after MU's loss last Friday appeared in no way interested in moving on. Things can obviously change, and nothing is set in stone until an agreement is announced. But my guess is something will come together at some point over the course of this week, and the carousel can finally stop spinning in Milwaukee.

---

Let make this very clear on the Buzz contract/job matter ...

Rosiak = correct, only reporter that has a clue and is close to correct.  Maybe because he talks to Cotts and Buzz

Rest of reporters/bloggers/tweeters on planet earth = no idea what they are talking about, never right and largely embarrass themselves.  Maybe because they do not know who Cottingham is and have never talked to Buzz.

So Rosiak says over 2 and a connected/credible guy from Buzz's former school says 2.5 (which would be consistent with Rosiak) and it's somehow crazy to talk about that?

[Benny B]

With respect, I see it a little differently.

I think the sticker shock of either $2 million or $2.5 million grabs headlines because it's so much more than most of us make. It seems gaudy that a basketball coach makes more than Marquette's best professors or most trusted deans. Especially if that coach is young and, in the eyes of many, unproven.

All true but not the point.

As I posted a couple weeks ago, Marquette basketball has been wildly inconsistent in the three-and-a-half decades since Al McGuire stopped coaching guys in short pants. For all of our program's proud heritage we've advanced to four Sweet 16s and two mid-major conference championships since Al retired.

Our two best coaches since Al have left for greener pastures. KO and Crean both did great things to wake up the Warrior tradition but, in the end, they thought they needed to go elsewhere to go to "the next level."

Thanks to the efforts of those coaches, and a university administration that seems to have learned from the painful era that resulted from trying to do things the cheap way, we now have a number of assets that make our program feel big time.

Despite it's widely reported tourney troubles and the specter of impending football finance schism, the Big East is big time basketball. It's on a level that far surpasses the 1980s Catholic independent, Great Midwest or Conference USA anchor that we were in the past.

The Al is a great facility which seems to be an ideal environment for someone like Todd Smith to transform bodies. If you have a look at the strength and speed improvements that guys from Chris and Junior have made to the leaps and bounds Wes took, you can tell we're doing something right there.

If Buzz had left, these tools would have remained, giving us a good chance of landing a legit new coach. However, I think Buzz staying provides something we've lacked for decades - an opportunity for consistency.

In a world where most people pay a lot less attention to college basektball than most of us, it pays to be in the big dance every year. It pays to be playing on Friday and Saturday in the Big East Tourney. It pays to put players in the NBA.

Crean started that and Buzz has kept it up. For the casual fan and the perspective recruit outside Wisconsin, Marquette has much more relevance and name recognition that it did a dozen years ago.

The opportunity for the university is to extend it streak of NCAA appearances, increase its performance in the Big East and make a decent run in the dance more than once a decade.

To do all that, Marquette needs stability at the top of the program. All of oft-circulated debate about one's personal feelings in the Crean vs Buzz debate is a waste of time. The point is that Crean led to Buzz. And, between them, we've been able to sustain respectability in the Big East and a presence on our beloved sport's grandest stage.

So the question of what to pay Buzz actually has very little to do with what Shaka or Brad are doing or earning. Those guys are brilliant. And they walked into atypical situations and delivered. Would one of them be great at MU? Probably. Would we be their first choice? Maybe. Maybe not. We don't know because we're not yet a "sure thing." Why would they leave for anything less than a sure thing when they've had success where they are?

In the context of the business that is Marquette Athletics, I would have made the call Cottingham appears to have made. You have a coach who has managed to bridge the gap between one of MU's great recruiting classes (the Big Three) by cobbling together classes of JuCos and now has a new generation of longer, athletic and highly regarded Warriors-in-training.

The only bottom line that matter isn't Buzz's paycheck. The bottom line is that if it's worth keeping Buzz around, the stakes of the game are much, much higher that $500,000 either way. The sticker shock of the $2.5 million is a red herring. It's a distraction. If you don't keep Buzz you don't save the $2.5 million. You've gotta go find someone else and likely pay them a seven figure salary.

If that extra $500,000 makes Buzz appear to be more likely to stay to recruits, to non-elite headhunters, to the press, I'd say it's worth every penny.

GO WARRIORS. Take a break. Hit the gym.

For God's sake get Vander and Junior locked into a gym with Steve 96-three-pointers-in-a-row Novak for 8 hours a day.

Get all those youngbloods in the gym with Mr. Smith.

And get us another 6-8 plus guy who like the taste of sweat and rebounds in traffic.

GRRRRRR.

+1 on the money analysis.
+1 on the history.
+1 on the context.
+1000 on the Novak 4 Asst Coach

[Sharpie]

I could care less if it's 2m or 2.5m. We are trying to build long term stability and get this program going in the road direction for the long term. If that's what it takes, I'm ok with it considering mu has the money anyways. It's not all about what he has already done but where the administration thinks he can take this program and where they see it headed. And I sure hope they are right. Personally, I believe they are.

[HoopsMalone]

I wonder if this current story will cause MU to wait on announcing this if they do at all.  MU knows 100% of the facts so they would know best.  Maybe extending Buzz would be a good distraction story, or it could draw more attention to this.

The ultimate announcement about Buzz's future is when OU announces someone other than Buzz I suppose.

[bilsu]

I am not sure why it should reflect on Buzz, if some player did something stupid. The only way it should reflect on Buzz, is if the player has a bad history before he came to MU. Also, who would MU be able to hire if Buzz left and at what cost? Especially, if some players were shown the door. You pay Buzz 2.5 million, because he is our best option.