If your coworkers are taking a pay cut . . .

[Jacie]

. . . or at least a salary freeze, would you turn down a 33% salary increase?

That is what Tommy Tuberville is getting (from $1.5 million for 2010 to $2 million in 2011) and the tech faculty senate does not like it, nope don't like it a bit. At least one TT prof, a Julian Spallholz, said he would turn the money down (and I bet he doesn't make $1.5 million/year either) so he must be quite a guy (or he's blowing it out his ***).

Tuberville’s $500K raise annoys Texas Tech faculty


Feb 21, 7:16 pm EST

LUBBOCK, Texas (AP)—A $500,000-per-year pay raise recently awarded Texas Tech football coach Tommy Tuberville through 2015 has angered some university faculty members, who have been asked to take a pay freeze in 2011.

Facing an 8 percent state funding reduction and with more funding cuts possible, Tech officials killed $3 million in faculty raises for 2011. However, Tuberville’s new five-year, $11 million contract guarantees the coach at least $2 million per year. That’s up from $1.5 million in the contract he signed in 2010.

At a faculty senate meeting last week, several faculty members questioned Tech’s announcement last month that it would pay Tuberville the raise even as lawmakers considering cutting university revenue by tens of millions of dollars, the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal reported in Monday’s editions.

“If that was me, I would have turned it down. I would have been embarrassed,” Julian Spallholz, a human sciences professor and Tech faculty senator, told the newspaper.

Tuberville and Tech athletic director Gerald Myers declined to comment. However, Tech President Guy Bailey told the Avalanche-Journal that the university was keeping a promise made to Tuberville a year ago when he was hired at “less than market value.”

“I’m sympathetic,” he said of the faculty response. “I’d love to be giving pay raises right now more generally.”

Faculty Senate President Richard Meek said some of the anger could result from a lack of understanding that academic and athletic budgets are funded separately. However, $2.5 million of the Tech athletic budget comes from academics. Bailey told the Avalanche-Journal that the academic subsidy of athletics has been reduced to $2.25 million this year because of the funding cuts and he hopes to remove the subsidy completely over the next few years.

Faculty advocates, however, say this brings up yet again the long-running issue of academic vs. athletics in terms of university priorities.

“Regardless of the specifics of the money flow, there’s still a question of the symbolism of what this says about the university’s priorities,” said John Curtis, director of research and public policy for the American Association of University Professors.

“If you’re at a time of cutting academic programs or freezing or cutting salaries for faculty and other employees, and you have a raise for the football coach—even if the money is there—it sends a completely wrong signal about where the priorities of the university are,” he told the Avalanche-Journal.

[sooner_born_1960]

I think Tubberville considers Stoops, Brown, Miles, etc his co-workers.

[agoo758]

I don't know how much revenue and publicity Tech football brings to the university, but most big time programs seem to pay everyone else's bills and are probably deserving of a pay raise regardless of the circumstances.

[Jacie]

I think Tubberville considers Stoops, Brown, Miles, etc his co-workers.

People who do the same job but for a different company are called competitors.

A janitor and a CEO have different job descriptions but can still be coworkers if employed at the same place . . .

[lmg0088]

I don't know how much revenue and publicity Tech football brings to the university, but most big time programs seem to pay everyone else's bills and are probably deserving of a pay raise regardless of the circumstances.

But the problem is at Tech...


However, $2.5 million of the Tech athletic budget comes from academics. Bailey told the Avalanche-Journal that the academic subsidy of athletics has been reduced to $2.25 million this year because of the funding cuts and he hopes to remove the subsidy completely over the next few years.


I found this part of the article odd. I thought like you that most universities (esp BCS schools) that the athletic departments wouldn't need money from the academics.

[yermom]

well, OU did before Stoops was here.


what did he do to warrant a raise besides allow TDs on onside kicks?

maybe if professors want $500k raises, they should get different jobs :D

as much as i really don't think Tuberville is that great, he is probably worth $2 million and Tech got him cheap last year. i think that's less than Leach was making though. Tuberville did manage to go undefeated in the SEC one year... of course, with the backfield he had, and Chizik as his DC, it's not that surprising.

anyway, faculty vs. football coach isn't exactly apples and oranges. i don't think human science professors are near as hard to replace or as much of a flight risk as football coaches

[OULenexaman]

in a heart beat...

[badger]

Holy crapola, batman. I already read this story once, but I still feel the same way: I can't believe they gave Tubs a raise, faculty complaints or not.

1- In a year when everyone except Nebbish owns Texas, Tech couldn't muster a victory over the hated whorns.

2- You gave up 45 points to A&M at home. Who's your rival again?

3- You also gave up 45 points to us on the road.

4- You lost to OSU at home for the first time... possibly ever, but just to be safe since I don't remember, let's just say that it was a very long time.

5- The only games you can channel Tech's old air raid dominance days are against Weber State (64) and New Mexico (52).

6- Sure, you scored 45 in your bowl and against Baylor, but in both of those games, you also gave up 38. In essense, Tech was weak in defeat and weak in victory.

7- Normally, placing ahead of Texas in the Big 12 South is a good year. Last year, it placed you FIFTH in the Big 12 South.

8- Finally, the eighth reason you don't deserve a raise... is the number 8, as in 8 wins, mostly over non-conference weenies, because you had a LOSING CONFERENCE RECORD.

I know he just put together a good recruiting class, but I think we all know that this is just a halftime reprieve till he can get back into the SEC. Then, all of this pay raising will be for nothing. He is using you, and you are getting crap in return. Enjoy, suckers

[Boomer Mooner]

"Facing an 8 percent state funding reduction and with more funding cuts possible, Tech officials killed $3 million in faculty raises for 2011. However, Tuberville’s new five-year, $11 million contract guarantees the coach at least $2 million per year. That’s up from $1.5 million in the contract he signed in 2010."

I think recent history would suggest nothing is guaranteed at Tech. It's not like you can sue for breach of contract.

[sooner_born_1960]

People who do the same job but for a different company are called competitors.

blah, blah...
Or, peers.

[MamaMia]

I would take part of the pay raise but offer to give a percentage to my assistant coaches if they were making less than I felt they deserved.

[sperry]

He should not be getting a pay raise. $2.25 million of the athletic budget at Tech is from the general academic budget (per the article). It's one thing if your athletic department is totally self-sufficient, like OU's. It's another when you're taking money away from academics to give your football coach a raise. Even if Tech is a crappy school, it's an institute of higher learning first and foremost. Taking money away from the academic budget to give the football coach a $500,000 raise is ridiculous.

[sooner_born_1960]

So, you're saying TT shouldn't have offered the raise. Tubberville shouldn't feel any shame for accepting what's offered.

[BetterSoonerThanLater]

maybe they should pay him in pesos.

[badger]

So, you're saying TT shouldn't have offered the raise. Tubberville shouldn't feel any shame for accepting what's offered.

Nah, I do not fault Tubs on taking money, I fault him for Tech's abysmal football record last year. Leach had his guys under control, Tubs clearly doesn't. Maybe Craig James assumed control of the football program during the last offseason? :rolleyes:

Tech is the one that should feel shame. You're rewarding Tubs for the same record that you fired Leach over! And how much money did you fire Leach over?

$800k tenure bonus + $1.7 contractual bonus = $2.5 mil to Leach

$1.5 mil + $500k = at least $2 mil to Tubs.

tecc be dumm

[rainiersooner]

I don't know how much revenue and publicity Tech football brings to the university, but most big time programs seem to pay everyone else's bills and are probably deserving of a pay raise regardless of the circumstances.

I've said this for a while - but have often heard in response that it is only true at a few universities...does anyone have a definitive accounting of whether this is true, and where?

[SoonerMom2]

In the Big 12 only two schools took money from academics in 2008-2009 -- OSU and Kansas State. OSU was in the red by over $20M and K-State by about $3M

We pay our coaches $4M more than OSU; $5M more than Tech; about the same as A&M, and $5M less than Texas.

[SoonerMom2]

Tech brings in $55M+ for all revenues and spent $53M+ on expenses in 2008-2009

You can search any public university in this database from USA Today -- it is the only one I have found on line so far that you use search.

Ref: http://www.usatoday.com/sports/college/ncaa-finances.htm

[BajaOklahoma]

This is huge in Texas.
Education is taking a huge hit this year. Districts around the state are losing millions or billions of dollars from the state, resulting in cutting staff (admin and teaching) and programs (AP, debate, orchestra, choir, band and gifted programs among others).
The state universities are asking that they not receive a cut in funding. If the state agrees, then part of the reason your child is losing a teacher in Podunk Texas is because Tommy got a raise. The PR hit is enormous.
It was the first thing I heard on the radio when I left work today.

[badger]

This is huge in Texas.
Education is taking a huge hit this year. Districts around the state are losing millions or billions of dollars from the state, resulting in cutting staff (admin and teaching) and programs (AP, debate, orchestra, choir, band and gifted programs among others).
The state universities are asking that they not receive a cut in funding. If the state agrees, then part of the reason your child is losing a teacher in Podunk Texas is because Tommy got a raise. The PR hit is enormous.
It was the first thing I heard on the radio when I left work today.

Didn't Texas also defer it's federal stimulus education dollars toward other projects?

As for state universities not getting funding cuts... they will. They can hold "no tuition increases" over state's heads, but economically, the schools can't raise tuition much more before it's the students (and families) breaking points. Boren once promised to not raise tuition if state funding was a certain amount... but tuition was frozen at OU for another reason -- because of the crappy economy.

[LRoss]

The prof who said he would be embarrassed -- if it was me, I'D be embarrassed if I was a prof crying over somebody else's good fortune.

For one -- although I DO think university professors are underpaid relative to their level of education -- he's not exactly there because it was either that or McDonald's. You had options, you took one that pays you enough to be middle-class and offers other rewards in terms of being involved with something meaningful and investing in people's futures, favorable working conditions, relatively low stress, etc. It's what you chose (and frankly it's a pretty good choice!).

Two -- anybody who doesn't think things are "fair" doesn't WANT "fair." If he makes $50,000, that's the top 1% (NOT a typo) of the world. I'd rather hear "I'm very blessed that my hard work has been rewarded with gainful and enjoyable employment" than "WHAAAAA, that guy makes too much!"

Just my thoughts! (I'm a pastor making under $30,000 in HIGH cost of living New England, and I feel like my work is meaningful and my life is great -- and to those who make millions from athletics or other non-vital activities, I say "congratulations!")

[fossil]

Yep, absolutely. If I'm already making 1.5 Million per year, I absolutely would turn down the raise until the freeze is over. Call me crazy, say I've lost my mind, accuse me of being a damned liar, but I can tell you for sure this raise in my annual salary would not take place this year.

AND I MEAN IT, DAMMIT!!

[OU_Sooners75]

4- You lost to OSU at home for the first time... possibly ever, but just to be safe since I don't remember, let's just say that it was a very long time.


Well...you would be correct then!

Texas Tech's last lost to OSU in Lubbuck was in 1944.

They did tie each other in Lubbuck in 1946 though.

[Leroy Lizard]

I don't know how much revenue and publicity Tech football brings to the university, but most big time programs seem to pay everyone else's bills and are probably deserving of a pay raise regardless of the circumstances.

They pay the bills for the other sports, but not the university. Very few athletic departments make money, and I doubt Tech is one of them.

The problem isn't Tuberville; it's grossly inflated salaries at just about every program in the country.

[Leroy Lizard]

For one -- although I DO think university professors are underpaid relative to their level of education -- he's not exactly there because it was either that or McDonald's. You had options, you took one that pays you enough to be middle-class and offers other rewards in terms of being involved with something meaningful and investing in people's futures, favorable working conditions, relatively low stress, etc. It's what you chose (and frankly it's a pretty good choice!).

I tend to agree, but keep in mind that profs are not the only ones that complain about their pay. According to this argument, no one has the right to complain about their pay, yet just about everyone one does it.

In terms of value to society, profs contribute far more than coaches. But "value to society" appears irrelevant when it comes to compensation.


Two -- anybody who doesn't think things are "fair" doesn't WANT "fair." If he makes $50,000, that's the top 1% (NOT a typo) of the world. I'd rather hear "I'm very blessed that my hard work has been rewarded with gainful and enjoyable employment" than "WHAAAAA, that guy makes too much!"

I think he's referring to the work he poured in to get where he is compared to his compensation. He isn't advocating everyone getting paid the same, no matter how lazy or uneducated.

It's a more serious matter than you make it. If we pay profs significantly less than coaches, that tells young people about society's values. It breeds cynicism toward academic achievement which, frankly, we don't need right now. It's society being a bad parent.

[OU_Sooners75]

I tend to agree, but keep in mind that profs are not the only ones that complain about their pay. According to this argument, no one has the right to complain about their pay, yet just about everyone one does it.

In terms of value to society, profs contribute far more than coaches. But "value to society" appears irrelevant when it comes to compensation.



I think he's referring to the work he poured in to get where he is compared to his compensation. He isn't advocating everyone getting paid the same, no matter how lazy or uneducated.

It's a more serious matter than you make it. If we pay profs significantly less than coaches, that tells young people about society's values. It breeds cynicism toward academic achievement which, frankly, we don't need right now. It's society being a bad parent.

I actually agree with you to a point on this.

One thing I do disagree with you on though....

Yes, the Professors reach more and impact far more people than any coach...but a coach does teach a lot more to their players than just the sport. They teach them how to respect others, compassion for the fellow human being, etc. They tend to be a lot closer to their players and staff than any professor is to their students.

Not a slap on any teacher or professor...because I think the teaching profession should be the highest paid profession in this country, but let's not act like coaches are not teachers as well.

[ashley]

Coaches and most profs get paid market value. If I want to make what Stoops, Brown, Michead Douglas or The Beatles then I should have gone into their line of work.. Everyone knows going in. Doctor, lawyer Indian Cheif.

[LRoss]

You're right Leroy -- too many people whine about their pay. I'm for less whining.

(It's arguable that I'm whining about whining. To which I would have no valid response.)

[Leroy Lizard]

Yes, the Professors reach more and impact far more people than any coach...but a coach does teach a lot more to their players than just the sport. They teach them how to respect others, compassion for the fellow human being, etc.

Coaches should, I agree. And many do, but the zeal to win for many coaches is just too prominent. I just can't see paying Pete Carroll over a million a year because he turns out solid citizens.

[Leroy Lizard]

You're right Leroy -- too many people whine about their pay. I'm for less whining.

(It's arguable that I'm whining about whining. To which I would have no valid response.)

Whining about one's pay is a God-given right. Just about everyone does it. Hell, coaches who make millions each year whine when it comes down to negotiating their salaries.

[Leroy Lizard]

Coaches and most profs get paid market value.

That goes without saying. The question is: Is the market value fair? To some, market value is fair by its very definition. (Which means that the term "underpaid" shouldn't even be in our vocabulary, as there can be no such thing.) To others, there is some higher ideal that should dictate compensation and market value is not adequately reflecting that.

Essentially, you don't get paid what you're worth, but rather what you negotiate. Some professions are not good at negotiating, while others cannot negotiate because society has a misguided notion of what's important.

[Soonerfan88]

Isn't this the same administration, board, & boosters that pitched such a fit when Leach asked for a raise after proving his worth on the field for 8-10 years? The same guys that sent emails around saying go ahead & sign him, we'll find a way to fire him so not to pay?

And wasn't one of their fits because Leach was always reported as a candidate for other jobs? Yet didn't I see Tubby throwing his name around this off-season after only one year at Tech?

Yep, giving him a raise makes perfect sense to me.....

[Leroy Lizard]

Isn't this the same administration, board, & boosters that pitched such a fit when Leach asked for a raise after proving his worth on the field for 8-10 years? The same guys that sent emails around saying go ahead & sign him, we'll find a way to fire him so not to pay?

Which tells me there was more to the story. If the Tech administration really has no major qualms about paying out, then what was the real reason for their desire to run Leach out on a rail?

My guess: Leach is difficult.

[King Barry's Back]

I would take part of the pay raise but offer to give a percentage to my assistant coaches if they were making less than I felt they deserved.


If he cares about the PR, which he probably doesn't, he should give $200k to the university.

Name a building or scholarship fund after himself, in an overlooked discipline like English lit or something.

The profs in that department would fall all over themselves thanking him and kissing his butt (when/where else have they ever seen that kind of money?), and he would have tons of cover for taking the $300k, and all the raise in future years.

And he'd have a nice building named after himself. He can go visit it when he brings his future teams to Lubbock to beat the Raiders.

[MyT Oklahoma]

I could really care less about what happens in Lubbock. Honest. :pop:

[Eielson]

. . . or at least a salary freeze, would you turn down a 33% salary increase?

Hahaha no way! I'm a proud capitalist.

[Leroy Lizard]

If he cares about the PR, which he probably doesn't, he should give $200k to the university.

Name a building or scholarship fund after himself, in an overlooked discipline like English lit or something.

The profs in that department would fall all over themselves thanking him and kissing his butt (when/where else have they ever seen that kind of money?), and he would have tons of cover for taking the $300k, and all the raise in future years.

And he'd have a nice building named after himself. He can go visit it when he brings his future teams to Lubbock to beat the Raiders.

$200,000 would not be a significant chunk of money for an entire department, especially if it was for only one year. For that money you might get the computer lab named after you, but that's about it.

[sperry]

Hahaha no way! I'm a proud capitalist.



Well considering $2.5 mill of the athletic department is funded with the school's overall budget, which is funded by the taxpayers, it's not exactly free market capitalism... Clearly, the athletic department isn't performing well enough to be able to pay Tuberville what they want, but they're going to do it anyway.

[Sooners78]

I do think Tech is stupid to give Tubes a raise after the Leach situation. However, if the prof doesn't like it, he can always apply for other jobs. Coaches actually have to perform in a high pressure environment to keep their jobs. Tenured professors work in a stress free environment, stand up and read their notes in front of a classroom of students, and keep their jobs even if they're lousy, and then there's that time-off thingy that the rest of the working world doesn't get. If I hear one more college professor complain about his job situation, my head's gonna explode!

[70sooner]

can we assume it wasn't a merit raise?

[badger]

Well, half his salary is gonna go to income taxes anyway, so I guess technically he's donating half his salary back to the government to fund education and stuff.

[OU_Sooners75]

Coaches should, I agree. And many do, but the zeal to win for many coaches is just too prominent. I just can't see paying Pete Carroll over a million a year because he turns out solid citizens.


Well, in all fairness, that is what they are paid to do, win!

If they were paid just to coach without winning, then the fans would not be paying outrageous prices to go see sporting events.

[BajaOklahoma]

My daughter just finished her Masters at OU last May.
The moment she got her freshman acceptance letter, tuition went up. And it continued going up each year - and not just the normal different levels classes cost different amounts.

Perry is playing with the education funds. Texas Teacher Retirement funds are among those in the best shape in the country. The state politicans want to raid the funds, which they can't legally do. It's going to be interesting.

[badger]

I imagine if Perry (why do you guys keep electing him? I hear he's gone senile) and his boys are allowed to touch the retirement fund, it will have the same outcome as when the federal government was allowed to I.O.U the Social Security fund.

A bunch of money just sitting there that we can play around with! I could just as well be buying a vacation home with the inheritance my father gave my kids last year!

[texaspokieokie]

he's not senile. who told you that ??

[badger]

he's not senile. who told you that ??

You're right, he's too young for that. Just crazy then, for suggesting Texas secede. :D

[texaspokieokie]

just being silly.

[ouwasp]

To me, the proper thing would be that Tuber would not accept the raise. And that we would never learn of it.

In the meantime, any whining college prof just needs to be quiet.

[GKeeper316]

ya i'll bet the ****in physics dept really packs em in on saturdays and sells a ton of t-shirts...

[Leroy Lizard]

ya i'll bet the ****in physics dept really packs em in on saturdays and sells a ton of t-shirts...

Have you seen how much money some of these science and engineering grants pull in? Not sure about OU, but UT's engineering department probably brings in twice as much money each year than the athletic department. Private donors and corporations alone brought in $23 million last year, and that doesn't count the lucrative government contracts. Hell, undergraduate student scholarships amounted to over $4 million.

Wanna know what UT's engineering department goal is for fundraising by 2014? $3 billion.

What is the highest faculty salary for an engineering prof at UT? $156,000, which is well below half of the average ASSISTANT coaches' salary.

The system is out of whack.