Washington State Coach Meets With UCI Officials

Washington State men’s basketball Coach Kelvin Sampson met with UC Irvine Athletic Director Tom Ford on Friday while on a trip to Southern California to play UCLA and USC, said Jim Livengood, Washington State’s athletic director.

Irvine is seeking a replacement for Coach Bill Mulligan, who retired at the end of the season.

Sampson would not acknowledge Friday that he was meeting with Irvine, and did not return a call to his office Monday.

“I’m here to try to beat USC, not to talk to UC Irvine,” Sampson said Friday.

Ford also declined comment.

“I’d prefer not to confirm or deny that I had a conversation with Kelvin Sampson,” Ford said.

But Livengood, who said he is confident he will successfully renegotiate Sampson’s contract, said Sampson told him he had met with Ford.

Sampson has one year remaining on a five-year contract. The Cougars, 7-22 a year ago, were in the running for a postseason bid this season before losing their final four games to finish at 16-12. The record marked Washington State’s first winning season since 1983.

“I think the world of Tom Ford, but I think there is a vast deal of difference between the two jobs,” Livengood said. “Some schools can do some things others can’t do.”

Sampson earns an annual base salary of $64,200 at Washington State, but his contract package is enhanced by income from other sources.

Irvine expects to budget a men’s basketball coaching salary of approximately $78,000, which has not been significantly enhanced by outside sources in the past.

Livengood said he expects to conduct formal renegotiation talks soon, but he does not consider Sampson’s conversation with Ford a leverage ploy.

Sampson and Ford became acquainted when Ford reviewed Washington State’s athletic department while working as a consultant.

Irvine has set an application deadline of Mar. 19. Ford said his five-member committee last week separated the approximately 60 applications it has received into three tiers, including a top group of candidates it will pursue.