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Rich, but airtight

Monson to be held accountable for subordinates, grades

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Posted: Monday July 26, 1999 08:29 PM

Serious look: Dan Monson's new contract will make him responsible for actions outside his own. AP

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) -- Dan Monson will be held accountable in ways that Clem Haskins never was.

Haskins, who took a $1.5 million buyout last month to leave his job as the University of Minnesota men's basketball coach, had an airtight contract that washed him of responsibility for the actions of key figures in the school's academic fraud scandal.

Monson, the Golden Gophers' new coach, won't have that luxury if his program ever gets into such hot water.

"There is a stronger and more specific clause for termination with just cause," athletic director Mark Dienhart said Monday.

Monson's seven-year contract contains language that wasn't in Haskins' deal. Included is a clause that holds him accountable for rules violations committed by assistant coaches and "any university employee for whom he is administratively responsible or representative of the university's athletic interest which, in the judgment of the university, [he] knew or should have known about with reasonable diligence and oversight."

Haskins was basically only accountable for himself and an assistant coach. Plus, he had an unusual provision that specified if he were fired with just cause, including NCAA rule violations, he got nearly $350,000.

Other major differences in Monson's contract, which pays him $490,000 a year plus outside income, include "specific dollar amounts that are identified for termination without cause and liquidated damages if the coach were to leave early," Dienhart said.

Also, there is a $25,000 bonus if the team's grade point average exceeds 2.8 on a 4.0 scale.

"Academic bonus was a goal of mine and also something university president Mark Yudof hoped to see," Dienhart said.

Haskins' 10-year deal that paid him about $700,000 a year when outside income was included contained no such GPA or graduation bonuses.

"It was the intent of the contract to make sure the coach had at least some responsibility and significant responsibility for the academic progress of the student athletes," Dienhart said. "The terms there don't separate the coach from the academic performances of student athletes."

Haskins, who guided Minnesota to two National Invitation Tournament titles and the 1997 Final Four, was accused of tolerating and facilitating academic fraud among his players and misusing booster club money.

An internal audit revealed, among other things, that boosters paid for men's basketball coaches, a trainer and their wives to travel to Las Vegas in 1997. The $9,100 trip was for a "coaches' seminar" that never took place. In March, former university employee Jan Gangelhoff said she did course work for at least 21 players from 1993-98, which was confirmed by four players. The university suspended four other players from the NCAA tournament opener against Gonzaga, which was coached by Monson.

The NCAA is looking into the scandal and sanctions are expected this fall.

Dienhart said Monson's academic bonus is now a standard in the department. "The message is that all coaches are indeed held accountable for recruiting kids that are serious about academics, and they are held accountable for making sure they make progress toward a degree," Dienhart said.

"In the end, coaches can and will be terminated if they're not paying attention to the academic side of the house as well as the competitive side of the house."

 

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