Are the coaching raises warranted?

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By Blake Oestriecher

It's hard to tell what means more these days. Education or athletics?

At LSU, the choice seems pretty clear.

This past Friday, LSU proposed salary increases for baseball coach Paul Mainieri, football defensive coordinator John Chavis and a few assistant coaches. If all goes as expected, these coaches will be cashing in. Big time.

Mainieri is slated to receive a $100,000 salary increase, which would put his yearly salary at $625,000. The pay raise would make Mainieri one of the highest paid coaches in college baseball, but his raise is probably the most justified of the bunch. He did lead LSU baseball back to prominence and oh yeah, a national championship.

But giving Chavis a $250,000 raise after just one season? It's like DJ Pauly D's blowout.

Ridiculous.

It's not because he didn't help revive the Tigers defense this year. He did. LSU's defense allowed eight fewer points per game in Chavis' first season, even ranking No. 12 in the nation in scoring defense. It's because Chavis already makes a boatload of money, $450,000 in fact, and he has only been at the school for one season. The University of Georgia did push hard for Chavis to bolt Baton Rouge for Athens, which likely broke the bank for LSU. But before increasing Chavis' salary by $250,000 per season, there are a few other things the Athletic Department should have considered.

Continuity. Progression. Stability. These things can't happen in one season.

But Director of Athletics Joe Alleva is sticking with his plan for the salary increases. In a press release by the Athletic Department, Alleva said, "Our commitment is to compete for championships and graduate our student-athletes, and to do that you have to hire and retain the best coaches in the country."

New assistant football coaches Billy Gonzales and Frank Wilson are apparently part of that group. Gonzales and Wilson are expected to make $285,000 and $325,000 per year on three-year contracts respectively. Gonzales does bring an impressive resume with him after coming over from Florida, and both Gonzalez and Wilson will be paid in the same range as most coaches at their respective positions.

However, it's not the huge contracts themselves that are causing problems, it's the timing. In case you missed it, the LSU Athletic Department is about to shell out millions of dollars to coaches. Coaches!

Take a look back at Alleva's statement. It says "student-athletes," not athlete-students. It's hard to justify passing out money like candy to these coaches when teachers at LSU are facing a strong possibility of losing their jobs. While sitting in class last week, one of my teachers actually said something along the lines of, "I know I will probably be one of the first to go."

And it's not just that teacher. There are hundreds of others.

Still, there will always be supporters of these coaches receiving pay raises. Everyone knows what they will say. The coaches generate millions of dollars. The coaches aren't paid using state dollars. The coaches aren't paid through university fees. They're paid with Athletic Department funds.

Is it all true? Yes.

But I'd still be willing to bet that I'm not alone when saying society has its priorities wrong. That is, of course, unless you truly believe that John Chavis should make triple the amount of money of the President of the United States.

Didn't think so.

Originally Published: Issue 863 - February 3, 2010

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