Examining Clawson's contract extension

On Monday Bowling Green announced that the school has agreed to a contract extension with football coach Dave Clawson.

Click here if you want to read the basics of that agreement.

Here are a few things to consider about that contract ...

• While the financial terms were not disclosed, a raise in salary is assumed. And for those who might ask why Clawson would receive a salary increase, here are some numbers to lend some perspective.

Last season Clawson's base salary was roughly $368 thousand, which seems like a lot of money to you and me. And it is a lot of money to you and me -- but it's not a lot of money for a football coach. The most-recent list of football salaries for college football coaches lists Clawson as ranking 120th among FBS coaches in terms of salary. That is out of 124 coaches.

Aside: Want to know where he ranked among Mid-American Conference coaches? Of the three FBS coaches that were below Clawson, the only MAC coach was Central Michigan's Dan Enos -- who received a contract extension last week.

What about bonuses, you ask? By my calculations he earned $19,000 in on-field bonuses ($10,000 for winning six MAC games, $2,000 for winning five MAC games, $5,000 for bowl berth and $2,000 for Chris Jones earning MAC defensive player of the year). Even with those bonuses raising his salary to $390,000 he remains near the bottom of MAC coaches in terms of salary.

Knowing all that, does winning eight games, earning a bowl bid and having a team poised to compete for a MAC title next season deserve a raise?

• Notice the information at the bottom of the release regarding a renovation to Perry Fieldhouse. In particular it mentions installing new turf at the fieldhouse.

That's a necessary move, since the current turf is the old "artificial" turf rather than the new synthetic turf that is softer and more forgiving. As BG prepared for the Military Bowl it practiced on that turf, and it clearly showed its age in terms of creating "rug burns" and a less-safe environment than the turf that recently was installed at Perry Stadium.

• Speaking of Perry Stadium, the release by the university also announced the planning of renovations to the facility. During the past season the University took a close look at the University of Akron's football field, which is certain on a short list of best facilities in the MAC (if it isn't No. 1).

As this process continues, it should help the program in two ways: first, it should help fans, alumni and boosters get excited about the program (in the same way the announcement and building of facilities like the Sebo Center and Stroh Center raised the excitement level. Second, it should help with recruiting as a sales point to prospective players.

Agree with the decision? Disagree? You can add your thoughts to the discussion below. Click on the "Post a Comment" area below and voice your opinions. Keep it clean, keep it civil, and it will be all good. Add your thoughts NOW!

Comments

[NOEL]

I think this is a necessary and good move. I am interested in the financial terms on a couple of levels.

One, I hope that his compensation and commitment to him, and on a larger scale the program (turf, stadium renovations), is strong enough to counter any less-than-elite level offers in the coming years. I think that if Clawson can build something special here doesn't need a next step before the big step...

Two, I am interested in the financial commitment to his staff as a whole. I think the fact BG's staff has stayed fairly stable since Clawson's hiring is underrated. Continuity in the program can be a key to success on the field and in recruiting so I hope the commitment is to the Football Program on a whole.

The turf in the field house was a question I had when we first installed the FieldTurf at DLP Stadium. As someone who carries a scar on his shin from that turf (hs soccer, 1996) it is well overdue to be replaced!

[Falcon1]

I feel BG should have been poised to win the MAC title this past season and maybe even the year before that. Improvement has been slow and steady, but it seems other programs have passed us by. Maybe we are building something that will be sustained while these other teams are going for the quick fix. It concerns me that BG has not even won its division, and we have not played well in big games under Clawson. We still are not competing with Toledo, and we have to recruit better in Northeast Ohio. Hopefully this extension and facilities upgrade will put BG over the top soon. I don't want to wait five more years for a title. *Side note: Did anyone notice that recently BG has taken a beating from its two biggest rivals? The BG men and women both lost to Toledo and Miami in basketball while the hockey team dropped two games to Miami. That is six losses in just a few weeks time to our rivals. Not good.

[John_Wagner]

Falcon1: Not arguing, just curious: What Mid-American Conference football programs have "passed BG by" since Clawson has taken over as coach?

[Orangeandbrown]

John, I think Clawson is doing a good job and deserved the extension. You could argue that Kent has passed him by, no?

[Phil]

I think the extension is well deserved. Clawson and his staff have returned stability to the program and he's done a great job recruiting. He's built a program that has a chance to succeed every year...getting us off that boom/bust cylce that's typical of the MAC. The renovations to the Perry Field house are overdue as is the renovation of Perry Stadium.

[John_Wagner]

Falcon1 & O&B: Perhaps with Kent, but I thought the seeds for that improvement were planted before Clawson came to BG and just blossomed in the last three seasons (when BG was fighting its "issues").

Gotta be honest: the only school I thought had "passed" BG was Ball State (beat Toledo, nearly beat KSU at their place). I'm thinking more THIS SEASON in terms of "passing" BG.

In the same period BG has "passed" Western Michigan and Central Michigan, and Miami to a degree.

I'd like to hear more from others, though ...

[Michael Henry]

Kent and Ball State seem to have passed BG, and don't forget that Toledo was pretty bad not too long ago. I do like the way Clawson has built the program with depth, but we have to start winning against good teams. We seem to fall short by a big play or two when we are in big games. This past season OU was the only decent team that BG beat, and OU was decimated by injuries at the time. I hope BG can get over the hump this year and at least win their division. We have a lot of good players coming back, but it will be tough to replace Chris Jones and Dwayne Woods on defense. There could be real trouble on offense if Anthon Samuel does not return and if Matt Schilz doesn't bounce back from injury and a shaky season. Being a Clevelander, I really don't like the "wait 'til next year" approach. 2013 needs to be BG's year.

[Dennis Blue]

In today's sports world, especially FB, you could make the argument that ALL D-1 coaches are "overpaid"...when you talk about 3-4 MILLION dollar salaries for a FB coach, that's ridiculous, no matter how successful the program is or has become. I think Dave has done a solid job of rebuilding the Falcons, including getting the APR issue straightened out...with 8 kids getting Academic all league recognition, that says something else about how he's recruited. Hopefully, this new group of kids will live up to the past 3 groups athletically AND academically.