September 6, 2007

When it comes to salaries, UO swinging a big bat
George Horton appears to be the highest-paid baseball coach in the Pacific-10 Conference

BRIAN MEEHAN
The Oregonian Staff

The University of Oregon is reviving baseball with the same panache that has earned the Ducks a national reputation as a big spender in the realm of college sports.

The move is drawing attention not only because of the money involved, but also because Oregon has set goals that few national baseball powers achieve -- much less a program that has been dormant since after the 1981 season.

The hiring of George Horton from baseball powerhouse Cal State Fullerton for at least $400,000 a year bought Ducks baseball overnight credibility.

"That is a great hire," Louisiana State athletic director Skip Bertman said. "I tried to hire Horton here but I couldn't get him out of California. That says something about Oregon's offer."

The Horton coup might illustrate the allure of a university with benefactors such as Nike chairman Phil Knight, who recently pledged a $100 million endowment to Oregon athletics, but it also illuminates a growing gap between salaries in the athletic department and the university as a whole. And although an outstanding coach can help a team become competitive quickly, he won't necessarily help a program make money -- another of the goals cited by athletic director Pat Kilkenny.

To land Horton, 53, a two-time national coach of the year whose Titans won the 2004 national championship, Oregon guaranteed him an annual package of $400,000 -- a base salary of $150,000 and another $250,000 in television and radio money and a contract with Nike. With incentives, Horton could earn another $285,000 a year, Kilkenny said. The incentives include $50,000 for a College World Series appearance, $20,000 for a Pacific-10 Conference title and other rewards for graduating players, producing All-Americans or winning coach of the year honors.

Including incentives, the contract apparently makes Horton the Pac-10's highest-paid baseball coach. Oregon State coach Pat Casey, by contrast, earns close to $300,000. Oregon State athletic director Bob De Carolis and Arizona athletic director Jim Livengood said Horton clearly is the highest-paid baseball coach in the conference.

Nationally, Horton is not at the top of the pay scale. Bertman said Texas coach Augie Garrido, who preceded Horton at Fullerton, and Miami's Jim Morris both have base packages worth more than $600,000 annually.

"In our conference, I know of four or five coaches making more than that ($400,000)," longtime Mississippi State coach Ron Polk said.

Assistant to get $120,000

Though only about three or four schools nationwide make money with college baseball, Bertman believes Oregon was shrewd in paying enough to attract Horton.

"In baseball, the coach makes more of a difference than in football or basketball, where the best recruiter usually wins," he said.

"The difference between the top team in the nation and the 40th team is a hair's breadth," Bertman said. "If they build George Horton a stadium equal to the rest out there and give him a good budget, George Horton will do the rest."

Oregon's willingness to pay top dollar also is evident in the hiring of former Oregon State pitcher Andrew Checketts as pitching coach. Checketts, who was a star at West Linn High School, has been the pitching coach at UC Riverside. Kilkenny said Checketts' salary will be $120,000, a significant paycheck for a college pitching coach.

The coaching salaries for baseball contrast with how Oregon pays faculty.

According to data compiled by the American Association of University Professors, Oregon paid its full professors an average of $88,300, good for ninth among universities in the Pac-10. The only school that paid its professors less was Oregon State at $84,800. Stanford ranked first, paying its professors an average of $164,300.

The pay scale at public universities in Oregon is further dramatized by a comparison of the eight schools that qualified for the College World Series in Omaha, Neb., in June. Oregon State, which won its second consecutive championship, ranked last among the teams in terms of professors' salaries. Cal State Fullerton and Mississippi State ranked sixth and seventh.

Few programs make money

Under Horton, winning on the field might prove easier for the Ducks than turning a profit with baseball.

Kilkenny said he intends to turn baseball into a revenue-producing sport within seven years. He sees the right coach, namely Horton, as the first step in that direction. An on-campus stadium would be the key revenue engine.

Kilkenny said early talks have described a 5,000-seat stadium to be shared with the Class A Eugene Emeralds. He said the ballpark will feature luxury suites and other amenities to maximize revenue.

The right ballpark can be the difference between bleeding money and breaking even. But financial success stories are rare in college baseball: Every Pac-10 program operates in the red.

LSU is among a handful of schools where baseball generates a profit. Bertman said LSU, which sold 6,600 season tickets, made $1.4 million with its baseball program last season. He said the only other schools in the country to make money with baseball are Arkansas, Mississippi State and Texas, which has the smallest of the stadiums among the moneymaking universities at 6,649 capacity. Even with a stadium that seats more than 14,000, Polk said, Mississippi State just broke even last year with its baseball program.

Arkansas has demonstrated the value of blending a passionate fan base with the right stadium. Arkansas built Baum Stadium in 1996 and has expanded it twice. Today, Baum is one of college baseball's top venues with 10,500 seats, 34 luxury boxes and a hot tub for rent at $1,500 a game.

"The stadium had a big-time impact on our program," athletic director Frank Broyles said. The Razorbacks won the Southeastern Conference West Division last year. For the past two years, Arkansas has led the SEC in attendance, averaging 8,047 in 2007. The baseball program has made money in each of those seasons.

And although Fayetteville has a population of about 67,000, Broyles says he has 100 names on a waiting list in case one of the luxury boxes -- which rent for $22,500 each for the season -- comes open.

As the NCAA continues to level the playing field in college baseball, Bertman, who led the Tigers to five national championships in 18 seasons as baseball coach, believes anything is possible, even in a place such as Eugene. This spring, the NCAA has pushed back the start of play three weeks in an effort to lessen the advantage that warm-weather schools enjoy over northern programs.

"Baseball is the poster sport now for parity," Bertman said, alluding to the NCAA's cap of 11.7 scholarships for the sport. "I think Oregon made a smart move in getting such a wonderful coach. In a short two or three years they will be in the playoffs. . . . So don't count anybody out in spite of the rain."