Lewis says Kent State is ‘just getting rolling’
Sean Lewis isn’t the only person who will benefit from the contract extension he received earlier this month.
Kent State’s fourth-year head coach was much more excited about the perks his players and assistant coaches will receive than the extra income he’s earned by leading the program to backto-back winning seasons for the first time since 1976-77.
“The biggest thing was taking care of our student-athletes and taking care of the staff,” Lewis said. “I think that’s reflected in the contract. This is weird for me because it’s about my contract, but it’s really about my people. The fact that they’re being taken care of in this manner because of their support, their loyalty and their commitment to Kent State, I’m really grateful for that.”
Lewis will be paid a $460,000 base salary for the 2021 season plus a supplemental $50,000 for completing media obligations. Lewis was set to receive a $460,000 base salary in 2021 under the terms of his original five-year contract that was signed when he took over the Golden Flashes program in 2017.
Lewis will be paid a base salary of $480,000 for the 2022 and 2023 seasons then $500,000 for the 2024 and 2025 seasons, plus the $50,000 annual supplemental.
The assistant coaches under Lewis will also receive pay raises. Lewis has been awarded a one-time allocation of $125,000 to give his assistant coaches at his discretion. The salary pool for his assistant coaches will then be increased $15,000 annually.
Extending the contract of Lewis provides some protection to Kent State in case he ultimately takes a job at a Power 5 school, a strong possibility considering Lewis is only 35 and has turned the Flashes around quickly. If Lewis leaves before Jan. 31, 2022, he must pay Kent State $800,000, a sum that is reduced $50,000 annually.
The Flashes’ non-conference scheduling philosophy was also addressed in the new contract.
Beginning in 2022, the Flashes program will receive $50,000 for the first guarantee game at Power 5 schools each season, another $50,000 for the second, then $100,000 for a third. The contract states that 75 percent of the total sum each season must be used for “student-athlete facing projects.”
Kent State had won just 10 total games in the previous four seasons before Lewis was hired. The Flashes went 2-10 in his first season, but finished 7-6 and earned the program’s first-ever bowl victory in 2019, then went 3-1 during Covid-shortened 2020. Kent State will enter the 2021 season having won seven of its past eight games, and is the media’s preseason pick to win the Midamerican Conference East Division.
“This has been built because a collection of people came together, bought into an idea, and had faith to go after the shared vision,” Lewis said. “... We’ve laid a solid foundation, but this is just he start. We’re just getting rolling.”