Brady deserves a raise. He should be one of the best paid coaches in the SEC and get some upgrades and new facilities. He's done a good job for the last nine years. There's enough talent within 5 hours of Baton Rouge to maintain a good program.
The Times Picayune has an article on Skip and Brady's salary, in case people are looking for more news. http://www.nola.com/lsu/t-p/basketball/index.ssf?/base/sports-0/1144130861136570.xml I may have misspoke about what Brady's "demands" were, as this report seems to suggest an even more fair approach from Brady with respect to LSU.... Smith and Donovan, each with two Final Four appearances, are the only other coaches in the conference with more than one SEC title. Each makes more than $1 million annually. Alabama's Mark Gottfried received a seven-year deal in 2004 that pays a little more than $1 million, and Tennessee first-year coach Bruce Pearl makes $1 million. [His deal was reported at $1.1M] Brady said he's not necessarily asking for $1 million, but he would like to see a stronger commitment made by the athletic department to the program. He said the men's locker room needs to be brought up to SEC standards. "Ours doesn't compare to locker rooms at Florida, Kentucky or Tennessee," he said. Renovating the locker room will cost about $500,000, and Bertman told Brady he would help with fund raising. "We're not going to build it without private-sector help," Bertman said. Before this season, LSU completed a renovation of the Pete Maravich Assembly Center, and plans are in the works for two new practice floors Brady has a good amount of leverage, but I'm beginning to wonder what LSU can even do in this regard. There is something wrong if the school can't come up with the cash to support the program... :geauxtige :bball: :champs: LSU IS A BASKETBALL SCHOOL. GEAUX D.MITCH--KNOCK 'EM DOWN IN PORTSMOUTH!!!
There is something wrong. The fans aren't showing up. Skip's job is to find out why that is and address it. It obviously isn't the team because of the SEC skins they've put on the wall. I claim it's the coach and fan interest. You dispute that... I ask what else COULD it be? Marketing????
If the facilities are allowed to further deteriorate, recruiting will fall behind. I think that kind of thinking is short-sighted. :dis: Bertman told Brady he would "help" with the fund raising? Isn't fund raising part of the AD's job? I would consider it more Skip's job than Brady's.
We just spent $5 mil to renovate the PMAC. Skip has said over and over that this was just the first phase. I don't understand all this nervousness over our facilities. The bulk of the football renovations are over and more money can be spent on other facilities. Coaches should help raise funds for their program. Saban was very active raising money during the offseason. Saban also helped raise money for Mike's new home. He helped raise money for the academic center. He also donated $50,000 of his own money to the center. Skip did the same thing when he took over the baseball program. Brown did the same thing when he took over the basketball program.
I didn't know that was just the first phase. I thought from everything I was reading that it was the only phase. Thanks for clearing that up. For me, the nervousness comes from seeing what happens when a University neglects it's facilities for many years. Oklahoma State had to pour a ton of money into their facilities because nothing was done for a long time. It cost a lot to start turning things around. And much was done pre-Boone. It was so bad, that with out Pickens help, the school would be struggling for years to come to update just to decent in many areas. I didn't say Brady shouldn't do anything on fund raising, I am saying that I think that is a part of the AD's job and that Smoke should do a lot more than "help". I understand it is a joint (group?) effort, but the way the quote read with Smoke being willing to "help" was, well, not right. IMO.
Up until two years ago, the PMAC was managed by the University, not the Athletic Dept. That meant the funding for the PMAC came from the state. I guess that pretty much sums up why the PMAC ended up in the shape that it did. The state barely gives enough money to LSU for education purposes, much less a basketball arena. Thankfully, that is no longer an issue. I agree his choice of words seems odd, but then again, Skip isn't exactly graceful with his words.:hihi:
