Stony Brook keeps deal under wraps
‘Trade secret’ helps keep competition at bay, school says
College coaches have lots of secrets: Recruits. Trick plays. Injuries.
But rarely is anyone surprised by how much public school coaches are paid, whether they get a bonus for making the NCAA tournament or even how they get to work. Except when it comes to Stony Brook University on Long Island. Then it’s all a secret.
Each year, USA TODAY collects coaching contracts, outside income reports and financial data from Division I schools as part of a survey of coaches’ compensation at public schools. USA TODAY also looks at how much schools rely on student fees and university help to run the athletic department. Stony Brook released the documents last year. But this year, the school heavily redacted portions of the men’s basketball contract, saying it was a “trade secret.”
But because Stony Brook did not change coach Steve Pikiell’s contract, the provisions the school does not want released can be seen: either $350 a month or a car (Pikiell pays his own insurance but is reimbursed for fuel); bonuses, including $100,000 if Stony Brook wins four games in the NCAA tournament, and an agreement that he will play two games at Stony Brook if he gets a job at another Division I school, among other provisions.
USA TODAY appealed Stony Brook’s decision to redact to the State University of New York (SUNY) system.
“Disclosure of such information would enable SBU’S 345 Division I competitor institutions to modify their employment agreements and/or use such information in an attempt to lure SBU’S coaching talent to their own institutions,” SUNY Freedom of Information Law Appeals Officer Geraldine Gauthier states in her denial letter.
Nearly all Division I schools provide a car, bonuses and termination terms. Buffalo, Binghamton and Albany — Division I schools in the SUNY system — release all of the documents.
Stony Brook declined to allow anyone in the president’s office or media relations to be inter- viewed, though spokeswoman Lauren Sheprow said the university agreed with the decision.
At $24.3 million, Stony Brook’s athletic department revenue ranks in the top 40% of the 200-plus public schools in Division I, according to what the school reports to the NCAA. But at about $208,000, Pikiell would rank in the bottom 15% of salaries among coaches who made the tournament; they make $87,500 to $5.4 million.
In determining whether to release the documents, the school searched Wikipedia and Google, Gauthier said. That determined there were up to 352 potential competitors in Division I. In addition, stories published in several media outlets about coaches’ salaries prove the documents have “substantial commercial value,” her letter states.
“The public has no interest in the redacted material withheld, or in the outside income reports, because none of it involves public funds,” Gauthier states in her letter. Pikiell’s contract, however, gives no indication that bonuses or the car allowance, for example, are paid by anyone but the university.
The NCAA requires coaches to report outside income that could be considered a conflict of interest. The NCAA does not collect the documents; it only requires that the schools do. Those reports can reveal deals made directly with the coach, such as money received when players wear a specific brand of shoe or clothing, or media deals. In some cases, those contracts can be worth $200,000 or more.
Recently, most schools have had media and shoe deals go through the university, with part of the money going to the coach. Part of the reason is transparency, especially since most head basketball and football coaches are the highestpaid employees on campus. Part is to protect the school’s brand.
North Carolina State’s previous coach, Sidney Lowe, had outside agreements for radio and TV and for shoes and apparel. When the school hired Mark Gottfried last April, athletics director Debbie Yow — who inherited Lowe’s setup when she arrived there — arranged a contract that covered those items.
“Making a payment directly to a coach for television/radio and apparel contracts through the university rather than through third parties creates a clean and easily understood financial arrangement that works well,” she said.