Source: IndyStar.com
By: David Woods
Brad Stevens is staying at Butler University. So the lingering questions are: Is Gordon Hayward staying, too? There was no definitive answer to either on Thursday, but speculation about the Bulldogs’ basketball coach stops for awhile.
Terms of the contract, which extends through the 2021-22 seasons, were not divulged.
It is widely speculated that Stevens’ total package is at least $1 million annually. The Board of Trustees was discussing that amount, perhaps even before Butler reached the Final Four. Stevens’ base salary two years ago was $395,000, and the total package has been estimated at $750,000.
By comparison, Purdue coach Matt Painter recently agreed to a contract worth $1.3 million a year and incentives that could add another $1 million a year. Indiana University coach Tom Crean, the state’s highest-paid employee, makes $2.3 million annually.
Stevens rebuffed the University of Oregon, which could have offered double or triple what Butler did. Pat Kilkenny, a former Oregon athletic director leading the search, said he spoke with Stevens by phone three times Tuesday. Stevens’ name also came up in connection with two openings in the Atlantic Coast Conference
, Wake Forest and Clemson.
Duke beat Butler 61-59 Monday night in the national championship game at Lucas Oil Stadium. Afterward, Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski recommended Stevens stay at Butler. “They also should pay him more,” Coach K said.
Hayward is the Bulldogs’ 6-9 star who is deciding whether to enter the NBA draft or return for a third college season. Multiple preseason rankings put Butler in the nation’s top five, as long as Hayward is on the team.
Hayward’s father, Gordon Sr., said a departure by Stevens might have influenced a decision but that his son has a good relationship with all of the coaches on Butler’s staff. Butler has a tradition of promoting assistants when the head coach leaves.
“His staying doesn’t surprise us,” Hayward’s father said. “He’s such a high-character guy who values Butler and the things that Butler has to offer. He’s from here. It’s kind of what we expected. It’s what he always told us.”
Curt Smith, father of 6-11 freshman Andrew Smith, said he hoped Stevens’ presence would persuade Hayward to stay another year.
“We were all, as parents and players, hoping and praying Brad could stay and continue to lead this program in the Butler way,” Curt Smith said.
The Bulldogs (33-5) set a school record for victories and also a school record for consecutive wins (25). Butler finished No. 2 behind Duke (35-5) in the post-tournament ESPN/USA Today coaches’ poll.
Stevens (89-15) has won more games in his first three years than any coach in major college history.
He was away from Indianapolis on a recruiting trip Thursday. In a statement, he said he and wife Tracy are “thrilled and very thankful for the opportunity to continue to play a role for Butler University.”
One of Butler’s incoming recruits, forward Khyle Marshall, Pembroke Pines, Fla., said he was relieved Stevens is staying.
“He always said he loves what he does there,” Marshall said.
Athletic director Barry Collier and university president Bobby Fong said Stevens was a good fit for Butler. Fong said the Board of Trustees was “very, very supportive” throughout a process that went on all season.
Fong said the university was able to retain Stevens “within the context” of Butler’s mission. The president declined to reveal the financial terms of the contract.
“There is also an opportunity here for him to continue coaching in a way that would support the maturation of his players in the fullest sense of the word — academically, intellectually, in terms of service to other people,” Fong said.
Coincidentally, less than four hours before Butler’s announcement, a columnist for Sports Illustrated’s Web site wrote that it would be harder for a coach like Stevens to stay put than to reach the national championship game.
“He will be mentioned for every job that comes open, and quite a few jobs that don’t come open,” wrote Michael Rosenberg of SI.com. “Schools without basketball teams will start programs so they can hire him. Towns without schools will open universities so they can have basketball teams so they can hire him.”
Rosenberg compared Stevens to Mark Few, who has turned down higher-paying jobs to stay at Gonzaga — a mid-major power in Spokane, Wash., that resembles Butler.
