Irvine Puts a Price on Winning

Just how much is a championship worth?

A lot if you are UC Irvine men’s basketball Coach Pat Douglass, who leads the Anteaters against Cal State Fullerton at 5:30 tonight in a Big West Conference game in the Bren Center.

A victory over the Titans (4-21, 3-12) would give Irvine (22-3, 13-1) its first regular-season conference title.

Under terms of his four-year contract, Douglass has earned a $7,000 bonus for leading the Anteaters to at least a tie for the regular-season conference title.

He will earn an additional $10,000 if Irvine is selected to the 64-team field for the NCAA playoffs, $5,000 each for advancing to the second and third rounds of the tournament, and $10,000 for each game won thereafter.

An NIT appearance would net Douglass a $3,000 bonus, plus $3,000 for each victory.

According to Big West Commissioner Dennis Farrell, under a complicated six-year formula that the Big West expects will bring in $540,000 in 2002, the conference will be awarded about $90,000 for each team qualifying for the 2001 postseason.

The Big West gives $18,000 of that per round to qualifying teams to augment playoff expenses not covered by the NCAA.

Douglass, who has a four-year record of 51-55, had his contract renegotiated at the end of last season’s 14-14 finish. The agreement calls for a base salary of $6,000 per month and a stipend that rises to $7,000 a month today for personal appearances made on the university’s behalf.

He also is in line to receive $15 each for any season tickets sold in excess of 750 and $1,500 for each player he recruits that graduates in five years or less.

Anteater marketing director Keith Sasaki said Irvine doesn’t expect to reach the 750 plateau in season tickets until next season.

If Douglass, whose name has surfaced at Nevada Las Vegas as a possible coaching candidate, leaves Irvine after this season, the deal calls for him to pay the university a $50,000 penalty. That amount declines to $37,500 in 2002 and $25,000 in 2003.