Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
ARKANSAS AD: Musselman contract talk later.
FAYETTEVILLE — University of Arkansas Athletic Director Hunter Yurachek told the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette on Monday he has had informal talks with basketball
Coach Eric Musselman’s agent, Jordan Bazant, about updating the terms of Musselman’s contract.
The Razorbacks won their ninth consecutive SEC game on Saturday, an 83-75 home victory over LSU, to improve to 19-5. Arkansas is 11-4 and in second place in the SEC and has clinched a double-bye for next week’s SEC Tournament in Nashville, Tenn.
Musselman is in the second year of his original contract, which pays $2.5 million per year.
After Alabama Coach Nate Oats recently agreed to a deal worth $3.237 million per year, Musselman dropped to 13th in the SEC in head coaches’ pay among the conference’s public universities, based on the USA Today database of head coach salaries in Division I.
Vanderbilt Coach Jerry Stackhouse’s salary hasn’t been reported because he works at a private university that isn’t subject to open records requests.
“My philosophy is that Eric and I will sit down together at the end of the season, when that’s over, and talk about what his contract looks like and what’s important to him moving forward,” Yurachek said. “His agent and I have talked behind the scenes about that.
“I like to sit down with the coaches and find out what’s important to them. We’re all on the same page: Eric Musselman, Hunter Yurachek and his agent, Jordan Bazant. And that’s how we will proceed.”
The Razorbacks were 20-12 in Musselman’s first season, including 12-1 in nonconference play. Arkansas had defeated Vanderbilt 86-73 in a firstround SEC Tournament game when the covid-19 pandemic shut down college basketball.
Musselman added a highly regarded class of freshmen to key graduate transfers and the returning roster and molded this season’s team into a contender for a top 4 seed in the NCAA Tournament.
Musselman’s current contract allows for two automatic one-year extensions for reaching the NCAA Tournament, along with two raises of $100,000 each.
Any new agreement is likely to include both a pay raise and an extension.
“I’m not worried about Eric Musselman leaving the University of Arkansas,” Yurachek said.
“I think him and his family love it here. With that said, Eric Musselman has earned the opportunity for him and I to sit down and to seriously talk about what his contract looks like moving forward.”