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I was gonna ask if if we're ready to get this thing started, but that would have been a waste of time because I know we're ready. I hope we're ready. I'm gonna speak it into existence. In fact, if we're not ready, I mean, I've been up since three point thirty this morning, no joke, got up three thirty this morning. Filled it on news radio eight forty whas, which is
always an honor. And maybe we have a bigger audience today Austin because I plugged Coffee and Company fueled by Thornton's on Sports Talk seven ninety while I was on the Big Stick. Oh that's right, I like what you said earlier, Big Nick. I'm a big stick. Yeah, I like it just I mean, while you were going to the bathroom too. Yeah, it made me feel real good as I as I walked in to take care of
my business. I doubt that'll ever be any kind of a name for me in radio, but yeah, I always am a little loopy, a little slap happy when when I'm in this situation where I got up really early, did four hours of radio, and then from nine am to three pm. That's a long break, right, and I do sit and I rest, but I can't sleep because if I really tried, I wouldn't be able to sleep.
I would just lay there restless waste time. So I'm a little more bring this up to say, I'm a little slap happy right out of the gate, more so than usual. Typically when I do double duty, it takes like four thirty ish for I'm like, all right, let's just let who knows where this show's going. Like I feel like I'm you know, I guess loopy is the better way to slap happy, the better way, the best way to describe it. But like, we'll see what happens.
But right out of the gate here, I'm just letting you guys know I'm kind of a zombie, but again, that could be fun. Aren't zombies cool? Right? Yeah? Maybe? I don't know.
Depends depends on what zombie you're talking about. World War Z zombie, walking dead zombie, neither the living dead zombies.
So yeah, zombies aren't good, are they now, now that I think about it, No, not really.
But anyways, if you were to turn into a zombie, then i'd gracefully have to be the one to, you know, put.
You out of your misery. Yeah, well I don't want you to do that. I wouldn't. Please don't, please don't, because we're ready, we're ready to rock and roll. I maybe over compensating by continuously saying how we're ready to roll, ready to roll, ready to roll, but ready or not, we're gonna do it. Taking you up till six o'clock. My name is Dick Coffee, Austin Montgomery, the travel chief alongside, and we got a lot to get to today and we'll certainly do exactly that. And I hope you guys
will stick with us. Don't forget you could take us with you wherever you go. Listen live on the iHeartRadio app. Also listen live at seven ninety Louisville dot Com. But I guess we'll get right to it. We now have confirmation. It has been announced that Pat Kelsey has received a contract extension. Josh Hurd spoke today. We'll let you hear
some sound. I believe we have some of that and a lot that I took away from from Josh Hurt's press conference talking about a lot of things, including an emotional Josh Hurd when talking about the loss of Junior Bridgeman of course, which of course is you know, very sad thing, a guy who's very, very very impactful around here, not only as a former Louisville basketball player, but a guy that made a big impact on this community in
this state. But the big takeaway today is that Pat Kelsey got his extension, So the UFL Athletic Association showed their appreciation for one Pat Kelsey raising his salary by one million dollars. So he has now signed a new contract. Actually I need to get to the specifics here. I don't know if he actually I mean, you can get a raise without signing a new extent, without like signing a new deal. I don't know the specifics of it.
I didn't get all that. But anyways, he's now earning three point six to three million on a contract that runs through the twenty thirty season, So I guess that is an extensioncause I don't believe his first contract that he signed unless I'm wrong, ran up until twenty thirty. So he's gone from two point three million to three point sixty three million, and the new deal also increases the incentives he's going to earn for reaching the Sweet
sixteen Elite eight in Final four. And one thing I'll say that that I don't want a nitpick and I'm going to share my thoughts on this, but I want people to, like, you know, have to put on like your your listening years is that I'm going to say something that might go over your head. But I guess what you hear me say a lot like both things can be true. I understand that this is probably the best thing the university could do for Pat Kelsey as
far as like financially being responsible. We know that U of L is still paying and I don't mean necessarily like I mean they're still like you know, in debt. I mean they do still have coaches on that they're paying. In fact, they paid more for can he paying to coach at Arkansas this year than they did Pat kel city coach at Louisville. So like, that sucks that that happened, but there's nothing you can really do about it. So again two things. One, I'm glad he got an extension
and a raise. I understand why it's not more, But I also would be a liar if I said, hey, we're going to be talking about Pat Kelsey's new contract extension on the show today. It'll be announced right before. What number do you think it would be? I was expecting it to be much higher than three point six. That's not a criticism because again I think if they could pay them a lot more money they would. There's no doubt they love this man, Pat Kelsey. We all do.
I just think when you've got me, you're still paying the price for some bad decisions that were made that you know it's in the past, but I need to dwell on it. But I think that's why you're here. You had a coach that was awful that not only you're still paying for paying a lot, but you didn't have anybody showed up for games for years. That has an impact that affects the University. Also, another factor as to why it's not more could be that you don't
want to put a big conscience. I don't want to insinuate that they're reluctant to put more money out there because they don't believe in Pat Kelsey. But there may be some aspect of let's just make sure we're covering our ass this time around, because you know what, we've given some contracts out around here. Not saying Josh had anything to do with it, because honestly, you know, he's still relatively new in the position. But I mean Louisville
and they're they're not alone. But you want to avoid having to pay coaches a lot of money when they're not coaching you anymore. That's why I've always thought that, like people don't realize Chris Mack did Louiville a favor by leaving and taking half when he could have absolutely stuck around and made them fire him. And it's all nonsense. No, he took the He took half because he knew they were going to maybe get caused. No, they weren't. They wanted to get caused to fire him one. I don't
think they would have it. But if they did they would basically be putting themselves in further trouble with the NCAA. So anyways, pack that's the news today. Pat Kelsey did get a new extension. His salary has been bumped by one million dollars. And again, this is what I was getting to a moment ago and got sidetracked. Not only am I surprised that it's not a little bit more, but again I understand I didn't. I don't think I
brought it up, but I probably should have. You know, it would have would have been out there at some point. But one of the tweets that I had, just not even thinking it would take off and get a lot of reaction and engagement. I wasn't, you know, rage baiting or anything like that. But Pat earned a twenty five thousand dollars bonus for being acc Coach of the Year and a fifty thousand dollars bonus for Louisville being an NSIBA tournament comparatively speaking, And I'll pull it up later
because I want to reference it. And this is not to be critical. Again, I want to be clear. This is just talking numbers, and when some of the numbers are surprising like they are, to me. It does not take long for me to realize, oh yeah, that does make sense. The university's athletic department is not exactly in a great position because they're still paying the price for some previous mistakes that some of the people aren't even
here anymore that made those decisions. But also you're about to have to start paying twenty million dollars annually to share revenue. So there's a lot of factors in it. But the new coach, I think it's at Florida State. He has I don't know what his contract is as far as his salary, but somebody when I posted that Pat got a twenty five thousand dollars bonus for ACC Coach of the Year. The other incentives for that same award within the conference is like sometimes I mean ten
times as much like you'll take whatever right. And Pat Kelsey when he took this job, was not worried about probably getting a deal that made him one of the highest paid coaches in the sport because he was getting a life changing raise as is by just making two point three million at at Louisville. I don't want to say maybe I shouldn't say life changing, but obviously he was gonna make a big bump in paid by going
from Charleston to Louisville. We all know that, so he probably, you know, understood, like, hey, one, I probably and clearly wasn't the first choice. But I'm getting the opportunity. And that's one of the reasons why Pat Kelsey was so successful in your one, because for him, he believes in himself. He knows he's got the formula, he knows he's a good coach, and he can be successful. And all he
needed was the opportunity and he got it. So I doubt he was really overly concerned about any of the incentives. But like twenty five thousand dollars per winning ACC Basketball Coach of the Year, I mean, that's I didn't realize it. Again, I learned after sharing that that's insane. Like anybody else that gets that that kind of and I shouldn't say anybody, but I'll try my best to check and see if
I can find some references. But I think like the majority that like win that award in football or basketball, like a lot of them are getting like quarter of a million dollars. My MANPK got twenty five grand like that. Again, I get it. You aren't in a position to go out here and just be throwing a ton of money just to do it, because you know, you got to be mindful of what you spend and to be fair.
When you hired Pat Kelce as much as he came in here and stole the show right when he showed up to town and gave us the press conference, one of the reasons that was an obvious one is that you could get him and he would be cheaper than if you were able to somehow convince you know, Scott Drew to leave Baylor, which again we all know it worked out well, and I'm excited about the future. I just know that there's going to be some that are thinking, you know, why is it? You know, why did he
not get a bigger bump than that? And I'll be direct, I don't really know why fans care what money coaches make because it's not your money. I mean, it's not you know, even whenever they're asking for money for nil, that's not going to a coach, So I don't. I mean, I hope Pat Kelsey and I know he is going to be able to take care of his family with the amount of money he's going to make to coach Louisville.
I know he's going to be doing just fine, but like I never have really like it's I'm not sitting here thinking like Dearne, they should have gave him more. However, I do understand, although I'm not totally on the same page, there are fans that just understand what Louisville basketball is and that I don't care who you hire, it's Louisville's
basketball job. It's a big deal. Like starting pay is, you know, four million, and again that's probably not smart to do because you, you know, especially if you hire a coach like Pat who really had proven to be successful, but he was coming up from Charleston, and again, you weren't in a position to go out there and make somebody the highest paid coach in college basketball or one of them. So again, three point three million, I'm sorry. Three point six is the current three point six to
three million is the new salary for Pat Kelsey. He did get a raise and an extension and more incentives, and that's good news. It's all good news. But when you look up the highest paid coaches in college basketball right now, this list was updated less than a month ago from USA today. So just to give you the top five highest paid coaches sparse total pay, Bill self is number one. Caliperio at Arkansas's number two, Dan Hurley at Yukon number three, Tom Izzo at Michigan State number four.
Mick Cronin is the fifth highest paid coach at UCLA. What a waste of money. But anyways, Bill self is eight point eight million, Cal has eight even, but he's got a lot of incentives. Dan Hurley seven point seven million, Tom Izzo six point one million, Mick Cronin six point one million. But Izzo's got some, you know, a little bit, little bit of a little bit of a bump compared
to a little bit more than Cronin has. So when you hear that number, that salary meaning eight eight, seven, six and six is the top five, and you hear Pat is now getting three point six where would you all guess he ranks. I'm gonna give you a second thing about it now. I'm not gonna, like, you know, do trivia here, but this is the one thing that again I'm not even being critical, just an observation. Again, it's not my money. Pat clearly is cool with it
because he agreed to it. It's awesome, but he is still not one of the top forty highest paid coaches in college basketball. And again, everybody's cool with it. Ufl offered it, he accepted it. He's locked in great stuff. It's just Louisville Basketball paying less for their coach than Pittsburgh, than Arizona State, than Iowa State, than Clemson, than Penn State.
Then you know Missouri. I mean, I guess I could mention schools like Missouri and Nebraska and Illinois, but it even old miss But let's be real, those schools have a boatload of money just for being in the Big ten in the SEC. So good news. They did give Hi an extension, he did get more money, and everybody seems to be happy, or they wouldn't have, you know, followed through with it. It's just I'm a little surprised that that, you know, he's not viewed, because I think
there is something to be said about two things. One, you gotta be mind. You can't just promise somebody a bunch of money that you don't have, right like. You got to be to manage your finances and understand what you can and can't afford. And I think giving him an extension after one year is certainly a sign of
good faith. And I think Pat knows that he's loved around here, and he probably understands that because of those that came before him, they would be paying him more, but they're just not in a position to do so. It's just you know, like Fred Hoiberg at Nebraska's making four point seven million, Jamie Dixon at TCU, they're in the Big twelve. He's making more than a million than Patt.
And look, I know a lot of these coaches, even if they don't have a lot of momentum right now, they have a lot of juice like they have been successful to an extent. And some will say, well, Pat, I didn't want a tournament game, and you're right, he hasn't. So I don't know. I don't know what the bank account looks like for U of L. So again, I
just I guess more than anything. I'll give you two quick thoughts before we take our first break, and I'm sure these are in fact, I know these are things that I've kind of already said already, but just just to kind of wrap up the segment and then we'll let you guys react to it. And again, if you know, if you've got strong opinions on it, you can share it. But I'm just telling you my I'm just giving you my takeaways to be clear. Disclaimer. It's not my money
and Pat's Pat agreed to it. The school gave him a bump, so everybody's good. But I do think there is something to be said about, like, you know, you value basketball, so you pay this, but but you can't just you know, create money out of thin air that doesn't exist. So you know, I just hope that next year if in fact, like he I don't know, I'm overthinking it because that's what I do. That's my nature. It's one of my biggest weaknesses as a human being.
I overthink everything in life, and this isn't something I'm gonna be losing sleepover. But you know, if this was the best offer and Pat took it, I'm assuming that he's cool, he's happy, he's ready to roll. But let's be real, if any job opened up that wanted him, they would have offered damn near double of what Louisville is now paying him. So I just hope that, like deep down, he's understanding and he's not about you know, he's not just here to to to you know, create
generational wealth. Because I think from when I know about Pat and I would never claim to know him on a personal level, but from what I know, he has enough belief in himself and his system and and and you know him him having success to where it'll all work out in the long run. I just hope that, like the money all working out in the long run includes it being here at Louisville. I don't know, Austin, were you at all, Like, did you have any Again,
it's not our money, We're not spending it. I just again, if if you can't afford it, you can't afford It's one of the biggest issues people have in life, like they they spend outside of their means. It's just when I thought that this, when I knew that this was happening, I would have expected I don't know, this is this is going to sound stupid, and I say a lot of stupid things. I'll stay I'll say many more stupid
things the rest of the way. But it kind of to me seemed a little bit like, well, Okay, that's the best you can do. That's the best you can do. But it's like almost like why bother, like, why don't you just wait till next year, maybe you can save up some more money. And because there's gonna be players in college basketball and this isn't going to be that rare, but just an example. And I know when I hammer it, it sounds like I'm criticizing. It's just the times we're in
the top end. Kid who's coming back from Texas Tech for another year, the belief is that he's going to make three and a half million, he'll basically make the same amount of money to play college basketball Texas Tech for a year that Louisville's paying Pat Kelsey. And again I'm not saying that's an issue. They've got to fix it. It's just surprising. I don't know.
Now I'm right up your alley, and when you mentioned that right before we got on air, I was just expecting like a little more to hold you over for
a few years, not just like a low increase. Because I'm with you, then just should have just done it next year, because now we're going to go into next year and let's say something happens and Louisville has a decent first weekend in tournament or they make it a pretty substantial run in the tournament, then all we're gonna hear about during the coaching openings is is with Pat Kelsey gonna eye somewhere else and he's he's not gonna seem like he's locked down in my opinion, So I
guess I'm already looking forward towards that aspect of thinking like, oh, no, we're gonna have to do the same thing that we did this year next year and just deal with that until they literally drop a lottery bag on them.
Yeah, and and I think if this is something you gotta do annually, just because you're still trying to get the bank account a little bit more healthy as you as you make you know, as you make progress and make steps, that's great. But like I just assumed that, hey, you know, here we go, he's he's he's locked in. I just I would have thought at minimum, we're talking four point three and I can't. I know, it sounds like I'm disappointed, but again, like it's not my money,
I don't care. Pat's cool with it, then great. I just you know, if there would have been a contrary extension that would have been between four and five, I would have felt like, Okay, he's locked in and he's not going anywhere. And I still believe that, trust me, I do, But you know, it is still something that from a fan aspect, we know what Louisville brings more
than just the salary. If you're the basketball coach, man, it's I mean, there's a lot that comes with it, a lot of pressure, clearly we've learned that, a lot of expectation. But I think he's somebody that's kind of shown he's built for that. He'll embrace it, and clearly
he'll win. He did that so far. But I just I don't know if he does really really good next year and Louisville is in fact a top ten type team, like a lot of folks are projecting that they are, and I'm not sure they're going to be, but like, if they do end up in that position, I do believe it'll be the first time ever that it's a talking point that Louisville will need to substantially upgrade their coach's salary or other schools for the first time ever
will realize we can go double that dude's pay and he will know that Louisll's a better job than us. But we got Big ten money, we got SEC money, and as a fan, again we get caught up in like our own bubble. But this is a job to Pat. This is how he makes a living. And think about you having, you know, you being able to potentially turn down doubling your salary. Who would do that? Not many people.
So again I believe that if he continues to succeed, they're going to continue to understand they got to keep coming with more money because he's earning that and this is a business, and other schools will in fact give him that. I think everybody knows that. It's just you know, I guess more than anything, I'm a little bit like It's just it's the realization that financially, this is how strapped you are. Because again we all know Louisville values basketball.
This year was proof how important it is for Louisville basketball to be successful, for the university, for the athletic department, and for this city. And Pat brought us that in year one. Was awesome And I don't see that changing any point. But I don't know, it's just the reality that there. I mean, And again this isn't new information. We've talked about this, not for just a few months for a long time, for years really that the SEC and the Big ten they live in a different neighborhood
than everybody else. They got bigger homes, they got bigger, they got more uh, they got more acres, right, they got they got an extra garage and there's nothing you can do about that if you're Louisville. So I believe this is the best they could do as far as being responsible, and that's that's that's just the situation that you're in. I just I think this guy's been so phenomenal and I think he is the perfect fit for us.
And to be clear, I do not see a scenario where like he's not our coach in a few years. I mean, you never know, but let's just be real about it. If he continues to have success, they're gonna have to continue doing this, and if it is these gradual bumps, that's gonna be noted and there'll be other schools that realize, we never thought in a billion years we'd be able to go get Louisville's basketball coach, are
you kid me? And they probably won't be able to, but they'll look at what he's making and say, we could, we could triple his pay. So again, if Louisville could do that, they would, I know it, because we know they value basketball. They have to. So here are some incentives of the deal for those of you that Yeah, So he's still getting the same twenty five K for Coach of the Year, He's getting fifty K for National Coach of the Year, fifty K for ACC regular season.
So again, a lot of his like ACC tournament champs that's a fifty thousand dollars bonus, instead of a tournament appearance that's a fifty thousand dollars bonus. So the ones that are that have changed is if Louisville makes the Sweet sixteen, he'll get a two hundred and fifty thousand dollars base increase and he can get that up to two times. You make the Elite eight, he's getting three hundred thousand dollars increase, and you can get that up
to two times. So I mean just a I mean, there's I'm looking at the document that Dusty Baker over at Wave three posted that just has the picture of it, So I'm trying to it's it's definitely full of incentives to where like if Louisville is as good as they need to be. Like if Louisville ends up next year making the final four or even the Elite eight, like he's gonna get, He's gonna get, you know, a couple hundred thousand dollars added for the Elite eight, quarter million
added for the final four. And again, the more I look at the numbers and I'm spending on wheels here, trust me, I know, I just think every part of this entire thing, from the three point six base to some of the incentives staying the same, some of the incentives going up, but not that much. It's got to just be the best they can do. And that is not surprising when you really consider the recent years here at U of L. But it also doesn't scare me, like I'm not going to be you know, nervous about it.
But it's just, you know, long story short, we got a great coach where I hope is here for a long time. I believe will be here for a long time. I believe he will have a lot of success here. It's just with the financial component because you still have to kind of, you know, sit in the mess that was made by the previous hires and whatnot. It's just an unprecedented thing to know that if a school really wanted,
they could double your coach's salary. And I would hope that he would turn it down, but like if he didn't, we'd be all sad and you'd be devastating. But like, again, this is his job. Would you turn down a chance to double your salary? So again, best they could do. It's a situation we're in. All in all, it's still a good piece of news. But I do believe the more and I haven't even seen the reaction just yet,
and we'll get Yarl's reaction to it as well. I think it's going to be a talking point, like Louisville could do that. Louisville, that's all they could do. In fact, i'm reading here from Dusty's tweet that shows the the breakdown of his base pay and the incentives, the performance bonuses and all that, and you know, everybody's chiming in and saying, like, cannot believe it's that low. He deserves
more than that, should have been a lot more. And again these are just people on Twitter, like you know, who are you know, just you know, humans on the internet or bots on the internet. I don't know. So there's way more than any of us would ever know as far as like the finances. And again, I just maybe this is what they Maybe they got a boatload of money. We don't know about it. They just say, Okay, yeah, that was good enough for a little bit of a bump,
but we need more. Pat like, maybe that's their approach, but I doubt it. I think they realize they want this guy forever. But this is probably just the best they can do. And if Louisville keeps succeeding, that'll help you get out of the financial situation you're into where you can then put a little bit more money towards
the coach and keep him happy. Who knows, maybe Pat told him, Look, if you've got to, if you're out here rounding up funds to get me, to get me a big bump, just you know, take care of me a little bit, keep rounding up that money. Put it towards nil. I'm gonna build a team. Like maybe he's
doing that. We're in We're in a new world here, so trust me, there's coaches that have taken some steps back as far as what they earn because they know they need that money to go get good teams or they won't be successful and have the job in the first place. All right, quick break. If you want to join us, you can five on two five seventy nine hundred. Keep it lock right here on Sports Talk seven ninety.
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That's right, coffee and company. You're rolling along here on a Thursday afternoon. We are fuel about Thorntons. Don't forget right now. If you are a fan of Monster Energy drinks at Thornton's, you can get four of them for seven bucks. I don't know if you've been keeping up with, like you know, the price of everything, but that's a great deal. I think most people realize it, but I want to I want to make sure and emphasize that that's that's a deal you're not going to find anywhere else.
So take advantage and keep Thorntons in mind for a lot of reasons. Not only do you have to put gasoline in your car to fuel up and and you know, stay on the road, but they've got delicious food items and you're I can't prove this, neither can they, But I just want you to trust me, your life will be better if you are a member of the Thornton's Freshman Awards program. All right, Nick Coffee, that's me Austin
Montgomery alongside. As as we've discussed throughout the first thirty minutes or so today, Pat Kelsey did get an extension and did get a raise. He's making now three point six million dollars and easily the most money that he's that he's ever made as a basketball coach, unless you know, somehow Winthrop and Charleston were paying more than I would have ever imagined. So good news all the way around.
And we did have somebody that called in during the break that wanted to mention that Rick Patino at Saint John's also is making I guess, relatively the same. Might in fact, Beatino might have been making less than Pat And you know, good observation. And you know that's whatever. I mean, it's not super relevant. But for Rick, like if there's somebody that says, well, hey, that you know, expecting pat to be paid in the four to five
range is crazy because Rick's only making three. Well, you gotta keep in mind, Rick, is it Saint John's where they really don't I mean, first of all, Rick doesn't need any money, and also Saint John's doesn't have much money. I mean, in fact, he was able to get them to I mean he brought Rick, brought Saint John's money for him to go buy players like they didn't have it, you know what I mean. So a little bit of a different situation, and he was coming from my own,
you know, and it's just totally different situation. So my biggest takeaway is that for PK to still not be in the top forty, you know, someone will say, well, okay, that's fine, he's never even won a tournament game fair enough, But like, you know, I just think this year, for him being a legitimate National Coach of the Year candidate ACC Coach of the Year a program like Louisville, you would, if I would, I expected him to just you know, put him in the top fifteen to twenty just because
we're Louisville. But clearly you can't just do it because you want to. You got to have the money. And I don't want to act like it's nothing but poverty, and you know, everybody's broke at U of L. But clearly they are still paying for the mistakes made that you know, I don't want to dwell on them, but like they're still paying They were still paying Chris Mack until just recently. They're still paying Kenny Payne, not only
this this season that just ended, but next season. So that's I mean, yeah, it's somebody's fault down the line, but like it is what it is, and that's why you're here now. One thing that is just insane to think about. And I'm sure this is not something that anybody cares about, but I got to be honest with He's just one of those things that that really really
just is wild. Jeff Cable. He still makes more money than By the way, this is from the best wage or Twitter account, they pointed out, Jeff Cable still gets paid more early than Pat Kelsey, Mark few tj Alzolberger and Brad Brownwell, and all I want to know is who is Jeff Caple's agent. I know Pittsburgh just recently went through a change in leadership with athletics. They got
a new ad. I'm sure there's a variety of factors that went into that, but one of them has to be whoever gave Jeff Caple a contract that pays him that much money? Because you know, Pitt's not. I mean, there are certain schools that you look at here as far as what they pay their coach, and it might surprise you because of you know, where they are as far as the program, like not really notable, like Nebraska.
Nebraska has never won an NCAA tournament game. Never weren't they the school that we determine like poverty, like they've theyvant Yeah, like they've never won a tournament game. But they pay their coach a top fifteen salary, and I think it's because they simply have the money to do so, because they're in the Big Ten and they bring in a ton of money in football. So Nebraska in a
top fifteen job as far as salary is crazy. But again, these two, these two conferences, as I mentioned earlier, they are in different neighborhoods, They have a lot more money to use. They got money. They're just throwing money around because they can. So I shouldn't do this because I'm getting distracted, and I'm sure it's not making for good radio at all. But just looking through the list here, like other like at Rutgers, Steve Pakeel, he's making three
point eight, Jerome Tang three point seven. Kevin Keats is three point six, but obviously he got fired. Dusty made three point six, Todd Golden's making three point six. I bet he gets a raised because clearly, you know they're in the SEC they can aboard it. And he just won a national championship. So Nico medved too, who just went to Minnesota? Correct, yes, what did he get? They dropped the bag on him.
He's his first year, is going to earn three million with annual raises of one hundred thousand or yeah, one hundred thousand dollars each season at the Gophers Advance. If the Gophers achieve certain milestones such as making the NCAA tournament, may receive contract extension. Prior to this, he had a contract extension with Colorado State, where he was at one point seven million for all last season.
Is there anything in there? And if there's not, I wouldn't shock me, but I just thought I'd ask if he is to win the Big Ten Coach of the Year, is there is there like is it mentioned any like incentive for that?
Let me look because I was just looking on the Google AI think because automatically came.
Up that's one that like it's not a huge deal. And again you'll hear me mention this over and over because I don't want it to be misconstrued as if I'm saying Louisville made a mistake here, because again I don't know this, but I believe that they would pay this man a lot more if they could. You know, I don't think it's that they're just okay, yeah, decent season, Pat, Let's see what else you got. I mean, maybe that's the case. I don't know. I'm not talking to Josh Hurt.
I don't know what goes into these situation, these these decisions. But the twenty five thousand annually for winning ACC Coach of the Year, I just I feel like that's insanely low for anybody else, And it's really not that important, but it's just it's one of those things that stands out that I think really kind of just floors me a little bit that that's the financial situation ul Hoops is in. Now, somebody brings up a really good point that you know, does have you kind of questioning if
this list is legit. But yesterday, or maybe it was the day before, Yeah, the Forbes list came out as far as the most valuable college basketball programs in the country, and Louisville came in at number five, so you know when you see that, but again, you're still in debt essentially, like you're paying for three coaches essentially, And I think Mac is off the books now, but I could be wrong. It might be one more year, but you're still paying Kenny Payne. You were paying Mac for a while. So yeah,
two hundred and sixty million, that's a big evaluation. That puts you fifth in the country, behind only Carolina, Duke, Indiana, and Ohio State. But also, you know, a lot of those programs probably aren't paying that many coaches at one time. And then of course we've got on the text lines some folks mentioning this. You know, fundraising has been an
issue since Sturrich left. And maybe I don't know, maybe you're right, maybe you're onto something, But I again, I in no way do I think that today's news is worthy of like criticism. And look, you can be critical if you want. I just can mean from my position, it just you know, that's the best they can do.
Then it's just a reminder that you're still paying for the mess that was made with the kinny Payne higher, and honestly, you're I guess grateful that Chris Mick left and decided to just say, hey, give me this and I'm out, because most coaches wouldn't do that. By the way, speaking of the other programs here, as far as the most valuable, this is according to the Wall Street Journal, I mentioned Carolina, Duke, Indiana, Ohio State, and Louisville being
the top five. Number six is Arizona, seven, Syracuse, eight Illinois, nine, Kentucky, ten Arkansas, and then rounding out the top fifteen is Kansas, Michigan, Michigan State, Yukon. And then I tell you what number fifteen is the most random. I would have never guessed it program Minnesota. I mean, were they getting their money? Like Ben Johnson was his name. I think he just got fired, Like they weren't good, Like what are they?
How are they bringing in that kind of money? Like they don't even I mean, Minnesota's up there as far as like one of the one of the really random, like forever unsuccessful programs. Yeah, and that's why whenever we talked about Nico Medved taking that job and then Richard Battino rising once again to now get the Xavier job like nobody has won at Minnesota in like ever forever. The one guy that did turns out he was cheating his ass off and they had to fake k there're earlead eight.
So well, Ben Johnson was only making a million less than what Medved will be making. Ben Johnson basically made a million dollars less last year than what Niko will be making in his first year this year. Yeah, so where he's at three million? Ben Johnson was at two million for last season.
And I'm trying to find the coach here in the top in these rankings that just seems like, I mean, I think I may have found him, honestly, as far as the coach where you're scratching your head like, huh, how can you justify paying that this guy's got to be caple? But he's not really, you know, he's he's barely above Pat. Like for just just to be clear, he's making three point five to nine million caple as
Pat's gonna now be at three point sixty three. So for those of you that missed it earlier, three point six y three. That puts Pat Kelsey as is it three point sixty three or did I have it wrong? Let me double check here because it is important. I may have misspoke as far as what actually the toe is for uh for Pat, let me see. Yeah, so his bump puts him at three point sixty three, so I misspoke. He is he is in the top forty, but not let me see at three point sixty three,
he is at number thirty thirty two. So there you go. And I mean, it's still nice to have a h I think, I think, yeah, I think he said he wasn't in the top forty, but I many I should have said he wasn't in the top thirty. So I misspoke on that. But it is I don't know. I don't know if this is. And I'm not trying to speak something into existence, because you know that's not what I would do. But is it a coincidence that he
just jumped ahead of Dusty May here? Like Dusty May was thirty second, Now Pat Kelsey's thirty second, Dusty May's thirty third was that planned out? You know, I doubt that Dusty May is on anybody's mind, but I do know.
I just thought it was really one of the many things Pat Kelsey said when he got hired that stood out to me that I was just really you know, in pre with is not only how he delivered and sold himself and and you know he as they say, he killed the press conference, but he was very much self aware and like leaned into knowing that he wasn't
Scott Drew and he was in Dusty May. Like he brought those guys' names up when he was introduced, which again I think that speaks to somebody who doesn't take themselves too seriously and somebody who you know is not gonna you know, he gets it. Hey, I'm here to show you guys what I can do. So it's a great point. Yeah, I h I realized looking at other I mean, I here we are talking about a guy making three point six and I'm not the only one. Others have said like it. I'm surprised it's not higher.
I mean, can you imagine making three point six million a year be a great life? You don't now, I'm just under that. I'm trying to get I'm trying to get there. But I still I think my next contract here, they'll probably bump me up around that. Lets me do something neot That's what I'm expecting.
Let me, let me, let me look at that next contract, just to make Yeah, I'll put it on your desk before I put pen to paper, just to make because I got to have you making sure I'm getting taken care of. I studied law in a episode of Law and Orders.
Yeah, a little bit, you know, you know contracts. All right, quick break, we'll come back and wrap at the three o'clock hour. I uh, I have nothing on the Masters, which is we're great tease, right, But I'm just being transparent. Like the Masters in golf. It's the one thing where I really get fomo because I just, you know, I don't know much about golf. In fact, when I say I don't know much, I don't know anything. And yet the Masters it's like the one of the biggest events
in sports, and I'm seeing everybody talk about it. But like Harry, I'm admitting that I'm unqualified to do my job when it comes to golf. I have the Master's on right now. Shout out the Master's quick break, keep
a loocked out here on sport Stock seven ninety. We are putting the finishing touches here on knees first hour of three, that's right, three hours today, which usually is what we do, but it'll be seven hours for me, and I I mean, don't ever say I don't work hard, right, And I you know, hope you guys can sense sarcasm, because you know, I'm sure I'll be on air for seven hours today and you guys will be working eight hours or more of doing something that is probably you know,
something that you hate. And I don't say that till, like, you know, I'm sure there are some people out there that love their job. But I'm lucky. I'm fortunate. I mean, don't tell anybody, but I do this for free. I mean I wouldn't. My wife would probably leave me because you know, I got to contribute to the family. I got kids to defeat, but good stuff thus far. Pat Kelsey got his extension. The Masters are going on, and
that's all I can tell you about golf. Austin and I have talked about a lot of things during our year's long friendship, a lot of things on the show, A lot of things we wouldn't be allowed to talk about on the show. We've never talked golf. I think, ever, are you a golf guy in any way? Like like I want to be so bad to play or to keep up with like you know what's going on in.
Golf A little bit of both, because I think it goes hand in hand.
Oh yeah, I'm out on both. Like I just and I don't say like I'm too good for it. I just I tried golf. I suck at it. I'm not good at playing. If I'm going to play a sport that I'm really bad at, it's not fun because I would just be really mad at myself because I'm super competitive internally. So like, I just I've tried golf exactly. What about like do you keep up? Like do you
watch golf like the big tournaments? I know what's going on, Like at this point, I'll have it on and like I'm not asking you to pass a test here, I'm just I'm asking you because I'm I'm willing to be transparent and say I don't know anything about golf.
Yeah, And I think it just all started as I've just gotten in my thirties the last couple of years, and I think it took my first time going to top golf and I'm like, you know what, this kind of fun. I've never swung a golf club. I well, actually I have. I did when my mom used to work at the what's called the Eagles Nest out on a David S. Motth And Air Force Base and Tucson, Arizona.
Shout Shout out the Eagles Nest dm AFB where I grew up, my stomping grounds, the bad, bad streets of a military base.
But they're bill different over there out here.
She was, you know't you don't want to get caught lurking on a military base. But I would always you know, I was a chubby kid. I would always walk up to her to her work, and they knew that I got free food. And that also meant that I had to stay there because I didn't want to walk back, so I had to stay there and wait for her to get off. So I would just go down to where the pro shop was, and the guys knew that I was a Patty's son, so they just give me the bucket of balls, let me go out to the
driving range. And that's how I got to do that. When I was a little kid. I was never good at it then, but I always thought that it was cool. But now when you go out and do it, like you said, it's a very internal competitiveness. And even Michael
Jordan has said it. When you play golf, you're really playing yourself, of course, and there's nothing more frustrated because once you get out onto like a huge golf course like that and you realize, Okay, I got to get this ball all the way over there, just only using this stick, and it's like and it doesn't always just go straight, and like it's not like the Tiger Woods where you can aim at yourself. I don't know how people do that, because I played with my fiance's brothers
are amazing at it. He's uh, he's always going on business trips during golf, and he knows how to fade stuff, and he knows how to get things to the right, and he knows how if he wants to get it on the hill or just left of the hill. And I'm like, dude, I just want to hit it in the air.
But oh yeah, I may contact and the ball goes vertical. That's a win for me. And for a while people think people used to think I was like sandbagging or really like overcompensating. But those that have been on a golf course with me, there's not that many people they'll a test like, oh no, Nick's not joking. He's like
he's not good. Like I can't go play around to golf with people who play not even regularly, because I will think, I'll I'm the guy who will missed the ball when I swing a club, like you know, and I know that's not I mean, I know that that's not that crazy of a thing to do, but like I'll then just get really mad at myself and it, you know, and then I'm out there for four hours just pounding beers, getting pissed because I suck and.
They're not even counting your scores at that oh yeah, oh yeah, so just waiting for you to get done out of that sand trap when you're eighth shot.
We went on our trip last week. The fellas that went on the trip all had a day where they went golfing, and you know, they included me in the invitation, and I I just I'm like, no, I can't do it. Like I would literally be I'd be holding you guys back, I wouldn't enjoy myself and and it would be it would be a damper on your golf trip. So like it's actually it was actually a moment of clarity for me to like, you know what, like don't force it, bro,
you're not golf guy. Like you know, they they don't need you out there. And I'm.
You know, that's just another way I feel like I can bond with the boys, I can have something relevant to talk about or I don't know.
But it's definitely a there's a lot of business that gets talked about over a game of golf, right, not like everybody, but it's a pretty common like in fact, there's been twice in my time in this profession and what I do where we've talked to clients that have either been potential clients or clients that we have that I have a relationship with, and like they want around a golf we'll talk about it. I'm like sure, but
like here's what you're in for. And you know, I just got to be like, because this is what I this is what because my friends even are like, dude, you're not like it's not that big of a deal.
And I'm like, I'm not saying like I'm the worst person, I'm the worst player ever and that like I would ruin anybody's experience, but like I'm clearly not I'm clearly like the weak link of any group that you would that you would be around right, And you know, it was a moment of clarity for me to realize, like, you know what I don't like, I'm not going to force it, and you know, golf will be fine, just
fine without me. But the one thing I really wish I had, because I've had this argument before, when it comes to like horse racing, I don't believe that you need to have knowledge of the sport of horse racing around here to talk Derby, because Derby is so much bigger than just that race. Now, clearly, when you get close to the race, you talk about the actual race itself, the field, that kind of stuff, and I can you know, at least reference that and tell you who the favorites
are that kind of stuff. But we all force it around here. I used to do it as far as thinking we have to talk about like the sport of horse racing, and maybe, clearly there are people who are interested in that, but like ninety nine percent of the people who listen to shows like this throughout the year, what do they know They're not getting throughout the year for the most part, talk about horse racing. So I'll always defend myself when it comes to that. Now, when
it comes to golf. It is the one thing that I do believe is a good talking point for radio here and there. I mean, it's not something you can really just do a to mean, I don't think you can spend a whole show breaking down one of the major tournaments, but like I should know enough to be dangerous to at least have a conversation. And what I can tell you in the last year that happened in golf that's notable is that Scottie Schefler came to Louisville
and he got arrested. Like that's yeah, that's all I got.
There's turmoil like that, and there's obviously you know everything that that live live tournament and you got everything with that, and plus they got their own Netflix show now so you can kind of see some Bryce and Deshambeau.
I will say this, it doesn't really appeal to me. And we'll get into this later because I do actually have a list of things that like will surprise you about the Masters itself. But like again, I'm not complaining. I'm not I'm fine without golf. Golf is clearly fine without me, but it's not real inviting, you know what I mean? It's it's a snob sport, is it not.
Yeah, you spend a lot of money, and that's what's gonna that's what's kind of gonna deter you from cause you're gonna have fun when you play. There's gonna be that one shot where you're like, all right, you know what, I can do this, and you're gonna realize, Okay, if I want to come do this again, I gotta If I want to get better, I gotta come do this again. If I do this again, I gotta come spend one hundred dollars.
And you have to spend a whole day.
Yeah, and it's a whole day, a lot of money, and then you're gonna eventually want to go get clubs and gear and all that.
So it's can be expensive. People who love it like they love it, they make it like their personality and that's fine. So again, disclaimer before we get to the top of the hour break here, which we're late for. If you like it and you love it, cool, Like I'm not saying there's anything wrong with golf. I just know that it's not for me. And you know, it's another one of those things about the golf world when you tell people like, you don't follow it, you don't play,
you don't care. The ones who are really into it are like, what the hell's wrong with this guy? It's okay, I'm sure there's things that you know, I'm into that. You know a lot of others are that you aren't. You know, everybody's got their own thing. It's my one weakness. I kid, I got a lot of weaknesses, but it's one of the things when it comes to like being dangerous enough to talk sports at the water cooler with
people like I got. I mean, my wife would be as as knowledgeable about golf as me, which isn't much so anyways, two more hours left. Stick with us right here on Sports Talk seven ninety