De Paul basketball coach Joey Meyer returned to his Alumni Hall office the other day just as Athletic Director Bill Bradshaw was leaving the building and going out of town on business.
So another day passed without discussion about a new contract for Meyer, whose contract expired in June after his eighth season as head coach.
When each was interviewed, however, neither left any doubt Meyer will sign a new contract and seek a seventh straight 20-victory season in 1992-93.
Bradshaw and Meyer agreed that a published report this summer about Meyer`s future at De Paul contained two significant inaccuracies:
– Meyer and his agent presented De Paul with contract ”demands.”
– Meyer ”demanded” a financial package that would guarantee him-from salary and other sources-$2.5 million over five years or $500,000 a season.
Neither Bradshaw nor Meyer would discuss numbers. However, sources said that Meyer`s total package probably has been in the $130,000-$140,000 range, well below the $200,000 or more annual income paid to some rival Great Midwest Conference coaches. Meyer is believed to be negotiating for a raise that will put him in the top echelon of coaches in his conference, meaning a package of plus-$200,000 a year from all sources, university and others.
”I told Joey I want him to be back. He`s aware of that,” said Bradshaw. ”We haven`t talked about his contract because Joey`s been recruiting, and I`ve been working on the schedule and TV.
”We`ll get together on this as soon as we can,” said Bradshaw, ”but it`s difficult to imagine doing it in the next three or four weeks.”
Meyer this week repeated comments he made when the report came out.
”I never made any `demand,` ” said Meyer. ”That figure is ridiculous. I want to coach at De Paul. Father Richardson (De Paul`s president) wants me to coach, and I will coach here.”
What about the money? Meyer has said he will not negotiate through the media. Bradshaw said, ”I want coaches at De Paul to be fairly compensated.” Bob Huggins was paid in the $200,000 range for coaching Great Midwest co- champion Cincinnati into the Final Four last year. His base salary was $75,000. The remainder came from radio and TV shows, a shoe contract, a summer camp and other endorsements.
Cincinnati, Memphis State and Alabama-Birmingham (UAB) are the three public schools in the Great Midwest. The three Catholic schools are De Paul, St. Louis and Marquette. Kevin O`Neill`s package at Marquette is believed to exceed $200,000 a year. St. Louis reportedly upped the ante toward the $200,000 package when it hired Charlie Spoonhour this year.
A school`s contribution toward a coach`s $200,000 package can vary depending on how much the coach makes from other sources. Meyer`s radio-TV income was considerably smaller than that of coaches in some smaller cities where college basketball is king and stations are not crowded with reports on other teams, college and pro.
College coaches are feeling the economic pinch many others are feeling across the country. The days of the six-figure shoe contracts have all but disappeared, except for a handful of highly visible coaches. Shoe
manufacturers further reduced money for coaches when they committed seven-figure endorsement money to glamorous multimillionaire members of the Olympic Dream Team.
Bradshaw went to NCAA headquarters near Kansas City when he left Alumni Hall recently. The trip, however, had nothing to do with the in-house investigation De Paul is conducting to check out another printed report about alleged NCAA violations.
Instead, Bradshaw was there to discuss De Paul`s serving as host to first- and second-round NCAA tournament men`s basketball games at the Rosemont Horizon next March.
The De Paul investigation, however, is still going on. The NCAA has not received a report from De Paul on the allegations that the school may have violated NCAA rules in housing recruits or providing benefits for basketball players already in school.
That investigation, being conducted by persons outside the athletic department, is still going on, Bradshaw said. ”I understand there are follow- up interviews of persons who have already been interviewed. The feeling now is that it will take until the end of September.”
