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Meyer's pay renews debate about OSU’s priorities

School defends Meyer’s salary; detractors think it sends wrong message.

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By Laura A. Bischoff, Columbus Bureau Updated 8:58 PM Saturday, December 10, 2011

COLUMBUS — Four million dollars annually is just a starting point for how much Ohio State University has agreed to pay Urban Meyer to restore its scandal-ridden football program.

A four-page preliminary agreement, signed Nov. 28 by Meyer and OSU officials, calls for a monthly automobile allowance of $1,200; the use of private aircraft for recruiting visits and personal use of a plane for up to 35 hours a year; a country club membership; a dozen tickets and a suite for home games; and an immediate $250,000 transition payment.

And if Meyer hits performance targets and sticks around for the duration of his six-year deal, he’ll be paid hundreds of thousands of dollars more.

“He is without a shadow of a doubt one of the premier leaders in football. It’s represented in his record. But more importantly, it’s represented in him, the man,” OSU Athletic Director Gene Smith said last month when introducing Meyer to the press.

Meyer’s contract, which puts him in the top five among college coaches in the country, illustrates the market forces and huge money behind big-time college football. But it also demonstrates how anxious top university officials are to rebuild the football program after a year of upheaval and a mediocre season capped off by a loss to archrival Michigan.

“It’s the tail wagging the dog. It’s ridiculous that Ohio State is known for football and not for physics,” said Gordon Aubrecht, OSU professor of physics. “We are not the best university in the whole world — I wouldn’t claim that — but we are a very good university. ... There are so many opportunities for students to find something that will excite them and interest them. Yet all we hear about is football.”

Ohio State officials defend the hiring of Meyer, who won two national championships at the University of Florida, and are using it to market the university as a place where greatness happens.

Meyer’s photograph was prominent in a full-page ad the university bought in last Sunday’s Columbus Dispatch. “Our great university continues to attract the best and brightest in every discipline,” the ad said.

When asked how much it cost, OSU officials said they haven’t received an invoice.

Meyer is being paid from football program proceeds and funds raised by the Ohio State University Foundation. His contract is similar to the one for former coach Jim Tressel, who resigned in May after it came to light that he failed to notify his bosses of possible NCAA rule infractions by several Buckeyes.

Meyer’s contract is structured so he has incentives to remain a Buckeye for many years to come.

Meyer can earn $2.4 million in retention payments if he is still OSU’s coach through January 2018. He can earn as much as $300,000 a year if his student-athletes hit academic and graduation targets. Another $400,000 is possible for stellar performance on the field.

Here is how those on-field incentives work: If OSU is the Big Ten Leaders Division champion, Meyer gets an extra $50,000. He gets $100,000 if he wins the Big Ten Championship game. If the team goes to a BCS bowl, he is paid $150,000. If the Buckeyes play for the national championship, Meyer pockets $250,000.

Ohio State won’t have to dip too deep into its coffers to pay Meyer, thanks to the financial success of its football program. The program is projected to bring in $48.8 million this fiscal year while its expenses are expected to be $13.2 million. Football’s $35.6 million profit helps support OSU’s far-ranging athletic program, which includes more than 1,000 students competing in 36 sports.

OSU is the only university in the state with a self-sustaining athletics program, meaning it is not subsidized — nor are Meyer and the other coaches paid — by tuition money.

Sarah Wheeler, a first-year OSU student from Southpoint, said Meyer’s contract sets a poor example for the university.

“I think it’s an outrageous amount of money for a football coach,” she said.

Her boyfriend, Brad Barkin, a first-year student from a small town south of Canton, however, views a successful football program as a marketing tool to raise Ohio State’s profile and reputation.

“It seems like we got the most winningest coach there is because we are the best,” he said. “We are a football school. I think it’s awesome that we got him. He has, like, an 82 percent win rate.”

Football is a huge part of being a Buckeye, said Hannah Foor, a sophomore in the OSU nursing program. “You get a lot of camaraderie with the other students going to the games and doing all the cheers. It helps you feel you belong to the university and it is a fun way to be involved without studying all the time.”

She added: “I think the emphasis on football is part of our culture and the media. I don’t think it’s Ohio State’s problem alone.”

The terms and perks carved out for Meyer seem to be standard in coaching contracts at top-notch football programs, according to a Dayton Daily News review of several of those contracts. Automobile allowances, bonuses for bowl appearances, retention payments, media appearance payments, country club memberships, private aircraft travel and bonuses for hitting academic and graduation targets were incorporated into Tressel’s contracts, and also those for Louisiana State University coach Les Miles and University of Alabama coach Nick Saban.

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Details of Meyer’s contract:

Ohio State University’s terms of employment for Urban Meyer call for a six-year contract with the following annual compensation:

Base salary: $400,000

Media, promotions, and public relations: $1.85 million

Apparel, shoe, equipment: $1.4 million

Retirement contribution: $40,000

Coca-Cola appearance: $10,000

Additional perks

A one-time $250,000 transition payment.
If he is still head coach, retention payments $450,000 in 2014, $750,000 in 2016 and $1.2 million in 2018.
$100,000 to $150,000 if football players reach academic benchmarks and $100,000 to $150,000 if they reach graduation targets.
$50,000 for a division championship, $100,000 for a Big Ten championship win, $150,000 for a BCS bowl game appearance or $250,000 for a national championship bowl appearance.

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