Editorial: Multiple year-long contracts imperative for athletics, universities
Following the WNIT championship over the weekend, USD is seeing more opportunities not only for its players, but for its coaches as well.
USD should do everything it can to keep good coaches here, especially ones that are leading teams to victory, such as Amy Williams. The more wins they bring in, the more likely they’ll be offered a job elsewhere.
For one thing, USD’s WNIT win has gained a lot of attention, according to 12News in Arizona.
With that said, it’s clear that more Coyote victories are imperative to USD’s recruitment and reputation.
The article states, “When you decide to commit to head coach Amy Williams and the Coyotes, meaningful basketball in the latter stages of the season becomes part of the agreement.”
This should be taken into consideration when USD is drafting policies and contracts for head coaches such as Williams.
The South Dakota Board of Regents has indeed taken this into consideration, and has approved a policy that contributes to these multi-year contracts.
The SDBOR has passed a new policy that allows multi-year contracts for NCAA Division I head coaches, NCAA Division I athletic directors and university presidents.
According to the policy, the basic reasoning for this development is it ensures that head coaches and athletic directors will stay at the school they’re currently working at, and gain more competition from an employee recruitment perspective.
The policy states it will allow SDBOR to have a feel for “long-term implications, and evaluate the budgetary impact before consideration of including other divisions and position types.”
It makes one wonder why something like this hasn’t been implemented before, being that USD is a Division I school.
If USD is aiming for employment recruitment, then this policy will do wonders for coaches such as Williams, because it gives USD a better chance at getting its name out there by keeping winning coaches around.
The SDBOR is also benefiting from this, because they’re able to negotiate multiple-year employment contracts, which gives them an edge when it comes to employee recruitment.
Because sports remain an important asset to colleges everywhere, and can ultimately be a deciding factor for prospective students when they’re applying for schools, keeping the athletic coaches who’re leading teams to big victories is crucial.
Keeping these coaches here gives them the chance to keep leading teams to big championships, which just means more attention and recognition.
USD should remain dedicated to the school not only to keep their employees happy and working hard, but also to increase the chances of beneficial publicity.
