Basketball

Millions to be Made in March:

by Drew Duffy 3/22/23 [updated 3/31/23]

We all love the Cinderella stories, well maybe those of us who don’t care about our perfect brackets. There is a group of people who might love winning a couple of games in March more than others. Yes, the head coaches of these Cinderellas. The truth is, if you are a mid-major team winning in the NCAA tournament, odds are your coach may not be blowing the whistles at practice next season. Over the past six NCAA tournaments, there have been a handful of coaches who have cashed in on their success to earn themselves a hefty payday. Here is a look at the coaches over the past few years who bounced to a better paycheck…

Dan Hurley: Rhode Island 2017 → UConn / $2.75 million (2.5x salary)

Kermit Davis: Middle Tennessee 2017 → Ole Miss / $3.1525 million (4.13x salary)

Porter Moser: Loyola Chicago 2018 → Oklahoma / $2.5 million (5.95x salary)

Ryan Odom: UMBC 2018 → Utah State / (4.35x salary)

Joe Golding: Abilene Christian University 2021 → UTEP / $700k (?x salary)

Chris Jans: New Mexico State 2022 → Mississippi State / $2.4 million (4.13x salary)

Shaheen Holloway: Saint Peters 2022 → Seton Hall / $2.4 million (8x salary)

Tobin Anderson: Fairleigh-Dickinson University 2023 → Iona / ~$600k (15x salary)

Grant McCasaland: North Texas 2023 → Texas Tech / $3 million (3.75x salary)

It’s more fun when you win in March, especially when you’re a head coach. Great players win in March, great coaches get paid in March. 

Play/coach your best when the lights shine the brightest.

Twitter Reply on CUSA Basketball

by Drew Duffy 3/29/23

I love getting questions/comments from other individuals who are interested in different ideas in sports. This quick idea came to me from a Twitter observation about the success of CUSA in March basketball. Here is my quick and brief breakdown:

--Absolutely @whowhatwho1 :

CUSA definitely having a strong performance in postseason basketball. 

Important to note that these teams have much stronger BPI than we might think. So, (on paper) these might not be so surprising. 

FAU - 33

UAB - 52

North Texas - 58

Charlotte - 110

@ConferenceUSA will get new members in 2023, adding to the competitive landscape in the conference. 

Liberty - BPI 40

Sam Houston State - 49

Kennesaw State (tournament team this year) will join in 2024. Their BPI - 133. The quality of these teams shows the randomness in success for NCAA tournament teams. But, it bodes well for the legitimacy of the conference for all to make a statement in March like this. Will we see a CUSA team cutting down the nets in all 3? 

-- Great observation @whowhatwho1!