Agree, Other MAC teams seem to keep their coaches. I recognize many MAC coaches year after year. Boals shows incredible love for Ohio University and that is contagious with the players and fans.

I wholeheartedly agree with this! Might as well sign him now!

That isn't a bad idea to insure a raise structure that keeps Boals in the Top 2 highest paid coaches in the MAC. Works for Boals if he was made the highest paid coach upon signing. If he doesn't get a raise out of it and MAC coaching salaries move lower not so much.

If we were to renegotiate Boals contract it should include a large buy out clause, like $1,000,000.00. This way at least we recover what could be at least 2 years of salary for the next coach.




GO BOBCATS

I agree, that would be a slap in the face.

A hefty buyout is the only way renegotiating the contract makes any sense. The university's still not healthy financially and the athletic department loses millions every year. It's propped up by mandatory student fees, many of which are paid by students who don't care if a basketball team even exists. If you were AD, you'd have a lot of justifying to do to give anyone a raise using more university dollars - and you'd be inviting a lot of outrage even if you could.

Everyone on this site wants great coaches and continuity but when even the lowliest P5 program can easily quadruple your best possible offer it's a fool's errand to think that finding a few hundred grand will really move the needle. I think it's safe to assume Boals is happy in Athens, but it's also safe to assume he is hypercompetitive and would love to win at the highest level. And it's also safe to assume he can tell the difference between the very best Ohio can offer and the average P5 offer.

Right now he makes $581,000 for himself and $381,000 for his assistants while hoping to win the MAC's single bid. He also rides a bus most places and his team doesn't even have a practice gym.

For comparison to a "crappy" job in a P5:

Nebraska is a "football school" that's winless in the B1G this year and coach Fred Hoiberg is in the midst of a guaranteed seven-year $25 million contract. His assistants make $1 million a year. His team practices in a facility that looks like a country club. His league sent nine teams to the NCAA Tournament last year.

But yeah, Jeff Boals, who lives in suburban Columbus, just loves Athens too much to leave for a job like that. And if we scrape together enough pennies Ohio can compete with a job like that. There's not enough green Kool-Aid in the world to make me believe that.

I've said it before but it bears repeating: let's just enjoy what we have while we have it.

This is not really how it works. Dropping football to FCS doesn't guarantee there would suddenly be money to spend on men's basketball. They aren't looking to spend X amount of money on athletics just to spend it. They are looking for something for the University in return.

I don't doubt that this is true. But it's anybody able to articulate the return from football? I'm not an expert on these things by any stretch, so it could well be obvious and I'd still miss it. But where are we seeing the ROI from football?

Definitely. It would have to be a MAC-wide decision. Not likely at all, but that's how it would have to work.

I sort of went off in the 2022 Football Schedule thread. But to be nice, ask yourself what the University expects to get out of fielding a Basketball team. If you can answer that you will pretty much have your answer for football.

Thd President amd board, for the most part, are not spending student tuition on sports because they are fans. They are not quite exactly looking for success. What they are looking for is exposure. Success does help bring exposure. Success may help Alumni donations. But basketball is less popular and you are competing with far more schools for time. I think you are still thinking about it as a fan and not as a school.

I don't see what the university has to lose to give something like a 10 year extension for Boals pre Cleveland a shot. Any contract like that is going to come with a significant buyout so the university might actually come out ahead financially if he goes elsewhere early.

That also gives Boals time to wait until that one big season if he chooses to before making a move. This year he could make the dance but be 1 and done in the NCAAs. Next year not even make the NCAAs but the following year make a Sweet 16. He doesn't have to take the first train out of dodge here because this is the type of program that can reload quickly.

If he makes it 8 years in Athens that is a long term coach in my view. He doesn't have to coach until retirement in Athens to have an impactful tenure.