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Ten fold Iowa State extends Eustachy's contract
Posted: Monday March 13, 2000 10:29 PM
AMES, Iowa (AP) -- Iowa State rewarded basketball coach Larry Eustachy with a 10-year contract that will pay him $900,000 annually. Eustachy, in his second season with the Cyclones, returned the favor by saying Iowa State would be the last stop in his coaching career. "I've never made that statement before," Eustachy said Monday. "I've never said that in any other situation, but this is perfect for me and what we're trying to do as a family, and as a coach what I'm trying to do." The contract, the result of talks initiated by the administration, extends through June 30, 2010 and replaces one that was to expire July 31, 2003. It calls for a base salary of $160,000 and a guaranteed $640,000 in outside income from camps, endorsements, radio and television shows and shoe contracts. Those arrangements are handled by the ISU Foundation. The contract includes $300,000 bonuses to be paid in 2003, 2006 and 2009 if Eustachy is still coaching the Cyclones. Also included are incentive clauses for winning championships, advancing in the NCAA tournament and seeing that his players graduate. With the bonuses figured in, the contract averages $900,000 without any incentive money. Eustachy has been making $505,180 under his current contract, which remains in effect until June 30. "It's just unbelievable. I'm set back. I'm flattered," said Eustachy, who began his college coaching career as an unpaid assistant at Mississippi State. The contract announcement comes after Iowa State won the Big 12 regular-season and tournament championships. The sixth-ranked Cyclones are 29-4, a school record for victories, and are seeded second in the Midwest Regional for the NCAA tournament. Eustachy was named the Big 12 coach of the year and is a leading candidate for national coach of the year awards. He said the players deserve the credit. "You don't get this contract, you don't get coach of the year unless you've got players of the year and players of character and players who care about the coach and players who care about each other," Eustachy said. "We've had some great, great character since I've been here." With his wife, Stacy, and young sons, Evan and Hayden, watching, Eustachy said he began thinking about how much he'd like to remain at Iowa State after the Cyclones struggled to a 15-15 record a year ago. That was his worst season in 10 years as a head coach. "I'll never forget how I was treated last year," he said. "I wasn't used to experiencing such adversity and the people in Iowa, the administration, the Cyclone fans, the people in the local supermarket, when I stopped and got gas at the local gas station, were fantastic. They were the finest collection of people I've ever been around. "We decided then we wanted to make our home in Iowa and in Ames. And when I end up coaching, my last job will be at Iowa State. I want to see the two boys over there graduate from Ames High School -- on time. I just want to be here." Eustachy said he told athletic director Gene Smith that if the New York Knicks called, "just tell them no. Because this is the place for me and my family and we are going to be here as my last stop." The incentive clauses include $100,000 for winning the national championship, $25,000 each for winning the Big 12 regular-season and conference titles, $25,000 for making the NCAA tournament and $10,000 if the team's graduation rate exceeds the university's men's average. Smith said Eustachy's salary is competitive with top programs nationally and he was not worried about coaching salaries getting out of hand. "I'm a strong believer that you compensate people for the responsibilities and the pressures that they endure," he said, noting that the basketball program generates $5 million annually for the athletic department. "Athletics is the window through which the institution is viewed, and Larry has led a program that has created unbelievable esprit d'corps among our fans," Smith said.
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