Stoops, 47, is scheduled to receive a one-time $3 million benefit on Dec. 31 this year for coaching at OU 10 seasons, according to his contract obtained by The Oklahoman through the Oklahoma Open Records Act.
That $3 million benefit, combined with more than $2.77 million he'll receive in guaranteed compensation, along with additional income he could gain from various performance bonuses, means that Stoops could earn more than $6 million in 2008.
Sooner athletic director Joe Castiglione admits that figure could invite criticism of OU having misplaced priorities.
"People may question why we do certain things,” Castiglione said. "But we can measure his impact, not just with success on the field, but the way our team generates interest and excitement because of the leadership of the head coach. He positively affects so many elements of the athletic program, campus community and the state — you could talk about it from the infusion of excitement to the economic impact.”
"Bob Stoops is worth every penny and always has been and always will be.”
Castiglione points to the numbers to support his claim.
The year before Stoops arrived in Norman, OU generated only $26.1 million in athletic revenues, according to figures provided by the school.
In 2006-07 — Stoops' eighth season at OU — the athletic department generated $66.3 million in revenues, with football directly accounting for $28.5 million.
That doesn't include another $18 million in contribution, advertising and licensing dollars that football likely had a big hand in landing.
In contrast, of the $65.9 million in athletic expenses for 2006-07, football required only $15.1 million, meaning that without football OU athletics would be operating at a significant deficit.
For that reason, football is why OU has continued to not only balance its athletics budget, but is among only a handful of athletic departments to also turn a yearly profit.
The OU athletics department has contributed roughly $4 million from football ticket sales to "academic enhancements,” according to the school.
OU athletics also has the goal of finishing a $1 million endowment for the library.
"If that doesn't tell the story, I don't know what does,” Castiglione said.
"We really feel our financial model is more in line with the expectations of higher education, intercollegiate athletics and the institutional mission.”
Why Stoops is ‘the difference'
Back in 2005, the OU Board of Regents approved Stoops' $3 million benefit when renegotiating his contract through the 2011 season — just a few months after Florida made a strong push to snag Stoops as its head coach.
Since, the university has been contributing an average of $750,000 a year toward the $3 million benefit.
"The people who are generating the revenue, why on Earth wouldn't they share in it? Because without them, we wouldn't have any of it,” Castiglione said.
"I know Bob Stoops well enough that he would never make any one person including himself the difference in anything.
"But it's fair to say the program he leads is the difference between us having a broad-based athletic program that can be successful and give each of our student-athletes the chance to compete for a championship, to provide a myriad of resources to support them from the academic center to being able to travel that's comparable to other programs. All of these things do have a tie back to the success of our football program.”
Thank you for joining our conversations on newsok. We encourage your discussions but ask that you stay within the bounds of our terms and conditions. Please help us by reporting comments that violate these guidelines. To review our rules of engagement, go to Commenting and posting policy.
Taxes are now deemed “donations”. Now that is interesting logic. Donation implies voluntary. I guess taxes are voluntary if you’re willing to donate some time in the gray bar motel.
“S” signs that way because that is how internet trolls do their work.
According to one poster’s logic, Gundy should be paying o-state to coach.
you know what i think, i remember the gibbs, schnellenberger and blake years. when bob stoops took over that program it was costing the university to make up the short comings of empty seats in the stadium. lets see now? how many empty seat since bob's arrival? probably zero! so just as a buisness move it was an outstanding choice. people may complain about his graduation precentages, you know some of the kids on every football team in america are only there by the skin of their teeth, they might make it in the nfl but they have to go to college and since 1998 oklahoma university looks darn good on the resume, so pay him the money
What Bob Stoops and the football program have provided to the university is truely amazing. While it would not be on the scale that football has done, I would like to see a similar analysis of Sherri Coale and the womans basketball program.
Steve, Do you see OU as an institution of higher learning or as an instrument to provide sports entertainment and bragging rights for the folks in Oklahoma? Are you an OU graduate?
Steve, You're and idiot, I've taught sucessfully for 23 years and many try to teach and many fail. Stand in the front of a classroom for awhile and then say anyone can teach. I also was a sucessful coach, and again , not everyone can coach. Walk in my shoes before you put me down .
Bob Stoops deserves... You must have a premium account to access the rest of this article. If you are a premium member, you can log in here. To register a new account, click here.
boys, boys, boys.... time to play nice. This is a simple case of supply and demand. Stoops supplies wins and he is in demand. He stops supplying wins (especially in January) he is not in demand. Stoops gets every penny he can just like I do and every person that is posting in this space. Lighten up with the cracks on teachers and each other, this is just a business transaction.
Sooner in Texas, san antonio - Feb 21, 2008 at 10:37 pm
Steve, I apologize for leaving out the words "just anyone" before "can be a teacher". I fell into the same trap you did, not doing a thorough proof read of my post. In any case, just look at the individual awards list at UCSD and it totals to almost as much as the total outside funds received by the OU physics department in 2007. The URL is: http://physics.ucsd.edu/awards/
My reference to "no research . . . no football" relates to the discovery of ways to make rubber football bladders. Should have made that more clear.
Steve, If the school didn't exist, the football team wouldn't exist. If I'm a "capitalist hating ignorant poster" then I apologize, I'm running as fast as I can. I doubt that anyone can be a teacher, and few teachers can be called "great teachers". Finally, without teachers and researchers, we wouldn't even have a football to kick around any more. Check the grammar in your last sentence, seems to be missing a word or two.
What a bunch of capitalist hating ignorant posters we have here. Just about anyone can be a teacher but only a few can be a great coach at a great program. Not to mention that his salary doesn't any correlation to tuition because the athletics program pays for itself.
Thank you Joe. I don't know whether Todd is telling me to just go away, or is responding to someone else.
Let me clarify my experience. I graduated from OU in Engineering Physics in 1954, and after serving in the Navy in the Pacific, went into industry. I was editor of the Engineering Magazine at OU and also active in many other areas, band as well as academics. I got my MS in Engineering from UCLA in 1962, which, along with Scripps Institute, spawned UCSD. I had a long association with UCSD, with them as a client and also as a contributor to UCSD. I was impressed by their rapid growth and their ability to obtain individual and government grants for research, not only in Physics and Engineering, but in Medicine and many other areas. When I returned to Oklahoma in Ocober 2007, I was disappointed that the school was not doing well in outside grants, and would like to find some way to help in that area. So far there has been little interest, but maybe things will change with time.
So, to summarize, I know OU inside out (or as it was in 1954) and I know UCSD inside out, and have to say that if UCSD can generate more revenue with grants and outside funds than OU does with it's football team, then we should work harder to get those grants, and the football team should work harder on the 44% graduation success rate.
Yes, I do support the team, honor the team, love the team, and did manage to attend the last OSU/OU football game. Still, is 44% what we should accept?
Get use to OSU fans and other haters of OU. There is money to keep a College Program at the highest level possible in Norman. OU is going to keep on winning. OU Football is a part of the State of Oklahoma's identity. Read your history, it was the State of Oklahoma that wanted an icon for their identity (besides the dust bowl) in the 40's and 50's. The Oklahoma Sooners were happy to help. Don't be jealous, just go away.
Let's see- As I understand it, the only football revenue going outside the atheletic department is a $1 million endowment for the library and $4 million in other undefined "Acdamemic Enhancements". Seems to me that some of the excess could be used to do something about the 44% "graduation success rate" for the football team, with the balance going to other academic areas. Is 44% what O.U. is about?
Without the school there woulr be no team, however when you compare the academic and financial success of OU to that of UCSD in San Diego, just 30 or so years old, with no football team, or any other serious revenue-generating sports, it's obvious that a good university can generate significant revenue from grants, good research, and other academic work. I would like to be proud of OU for it's academic achievements, as well as it's sports achievements.
One more comparison, the O.U. Physics Department brought in $4.29 million in external funding in 2007, probably less than 10% of that brought in by the UCSD physics department. Is that a record to be proud of?
Well all I have to say is that he isn't worth it! There are a lot of other potentially better coaches out there that could have done better and perhaps won the BIG games as well.....I think he is good but not that good! All you grammer police check this!!!!
You are an emabrassment to the state of Oklahoma as a graduate of our education system. Please get a vasectomy to protect the world from your stupidity.
Gary,OKC- Touch a nerve did we, huh Gary. You brought up all the negatives about your profession my friend. And by the way it was you who said you had students show up drunk. I don't know how good or bad of a teacher you really were . . I only know how you sound in your posts. Bitter, frustrated and resentfull. Get a life pal and quit complaining or go back to work for the nitwit who wants so badly to rehire you.
Tanner, thank you for proving Kyle's point earlier. Those who have nothing to add simply criticize others typos, grammar and just plain typing off the cuff. Since you're such an expert on grammar, I'll give you my dissertaion when I finish it so you can correct it for me.
By the way Gary...I missed one of your posts earlier. I never said that I didn't believe that the scholarships didn't pay the tuition. I just didn't think that your arugument is a good basis for saying that the athletic department supports the institution.--------M....please read my post carefully...I asked how many got scholarships. I even asked if it was all of them. I then said for the sake of arguement that all of them got scholarships. I never claimed to know how many actually got scholarships. I knew not all of them, but if I had said 20 or 75 or whatever number you still would have jumped on me so that was a lose-lose situation for me.
OU assistant football coach salaries 02/21/2008 OU assistant football coach salaries Name 2007 Total 2008 Total Percentage Raise Cale Gundy $180,000 $200,000 11.1 percent Josh...
Coordinators' pay increases by 18 percent OU's... 02/21/2008 NORMAN — Oklahoma is trying to make its coordinator jobs among the best in the country. At least financially. Defensive coordinator Brent Venables and...
110
Prev
Something to say about this topic? Submit a Letter to the Editor online
Thank you for joining our conversations on newsok. We encourage your discussions but ask that you stay within the bounds of our terms and conditions. Please help us by reporting comments that violate these guidelines. To review our rules of engagement, go to Commenting and posting policy.
Log in below or sign up (it's free).
“S” signs that way because that is how internet trolls do their work.
According to one poster’s logic, Gundy should be paying o-state to coach.
It is stipend !!!!!
Take a nap Kurt!!
My reference to "no research . . . no football" relates to the discovery of ways to make rubber football bladders. Should have made that more clear.
Let me clarify my experience. I graduated from OU in Engineering Physics in 1954, and after serving in the Navy in the Pacific, went into industry. I was editor of the Engineering Magazine at OU and also active in many other areas, band as well as academics. I got my MS in Engineering from UCLA in 1962, which, along with Scripps Institute, spawned UCSD. I had a long association with UCSD, with them as a client and also as a contributor to UCSD. I was impressed by their rapid growth and their ability to obtain individual and government grants for research, not only in Physics and Engineering, but in Medicine and many other areas. When I returned to Oklahoma in Ocober 2007, I was disappointed that the school was not doing well in outside grants, and would like to find some way to help in that area. So far there has been little interest, but maybe things will change with time.
So, to summarize, I know OU inside out (or as it was in 1954) and I know UCSD inside out, and have to say that if UCSD can generate more revenue with grants and outside funds than OU does with it's football team, then we should work harder to get those grants, and the football team should work harder on the 44% graduation success rate.
Yes, I do support the team, honor the team, love the team, and did manage to attend the last OSU/OU football game. Still, is 44% what we should accept?
Without the school there woulr be no team, however when you compare the academic and financial success of OU to that of UCSD in San Diego, just 30 or so years old, with no football team, or any other serious revenue-generating sports, it's obvious that a good university can generate significant revenue from grants, good research, and other academic work. I would like to be proud of OU for it's academic achievements, as well as it's sports achievements.
One more comparison, the O.U. Physics Department brought in $4.29 million in external funding in 2007, probably less than 10% of that brought in by the UCSD physics department. Is that a record to be proud of?
Gary,OKC- Touch a nerve did we, huh Gary. You brought up all the negatives about your profession my friend. And by the way it was you who said you had students show up drunk. I don't know how good or bad of a teacher you really were . . I only know how you sound in your posts. Bitter, frustrated and resentfull. Get a life pal and quit complaining or go back to work for the nitwit who wants so badly to rehire you.