The price Wichita State paid to change athletic directors is revealed with new contract
New Wichita State athletic director Kevin Saal has signed a five-year, $1.75 million contract, which was obtained by The Eagle on Thursday.
Saal was announced as the next leader of Wichita State’s athletic department last Wednesday, held an introductory press conference last Friday and on Monday officially signed his contract, which begins July 1 and runs through June 30, 2027 with an annual base salary of $350,000.
“I needed someone I could have a good relationship with and I immediately had that when I interviewed Kevin twice,” WSU president Rick Muma told reporters last Friday. “What you see today is what you’re going to see tomorrow and the next day. Kevin has a great vision and he’s very excited about moving Shocker Nation forward.
“We both have the same ideas of where we would like to see our athletic programs end up at the end of each year.”
Saal has impressed WSU fans so far with his vision for Shocker sports and the hiring has largely been met with enthusiasm, but the change in leadership has not come cheap.
After Muma fired former athletic director Darron Boatright without cause on May 4, the university reached a $300,000 settlement with Boatright and then paid $70,000 to Parker Search Executive, an Atlanta-based search firm, to conduct the national search that led to Saal’s hiring.
On top of paying Saal a base salary of $350,000, which is a $75,000 raise from Boatright’s salary, WSU also agreed to pay up to $100,000 to buy Saal out of his current contract as Murray State’s athletic director.
In total, WSU spent close to a half a million dollars to change from Boatright to Saal.
As for the contract between WSU and Saal, either side can buy their way out of the contract by paying 50% of the remaining base salary. If WSU fires Saal without cause, then Saal is obligated to find new employment, which would either reduce or cease WSU’s payments.
Under a detailed description of the job duties in the contract, Saal is expected to advise Muma and other senior leaders on “issues relating to intercollegiate athletics, its trends, issues and other pertinent matters including but not limited to Name, Image and Likeness.”
The contract also features various performance incentives, geared mostly towards academic progress and graduation rates. Saal’s potential additional earnings include:
$7,500 if the overall scholarship student-athlete’s graduation rate meets or exceeds the undergraduate WSU student population.
$3,500 if the majority of WSU teams score a perfect yearly academic progress rate.
$2,500 if the overall APR of all WSU teams exceeds 975.
$2,000 if the overall annual GPA for WSU student-athletes is at least a 3.25 GPA.
$25,000 if the WSU men’s or women’s basketball teams appear in the national championship game.
$10,000 if the WSU men’s basketball team reaches the NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 or if the WSU baseball team reaches the College World Series.
$2,500 if any WSU team wins a regular-season or conference tournament championship.
$1,000 if any WSU team qualifies for and plays in an NCAA postseason tournament.
