Pope gets contract extension
- Thread starter Catfan in Tn.
- Start date
I despise these automatic extensions for something that should be relatively common at UK. This is how you get into things like buyouts you can't afford.
I'm more or less with you. Mind you, for a new coach I wouldn't mind an auto-extension for the FIRST Sweet 16.
Mitch’s inner voice: MAKE IT FOREVER!!!!!
50 years one billion buy out ?
Automatic renewal is a horrible idea, unless you are afraid that the Coach will leave you….. . As employer, you can have other clauses to use like a mirror buyout to protect you….
So if he does what’s minimum required at Kentucky ( win first weekend in NCAA tournament ) his contract is automatically extended one year and increased 250k, so his 5 years initial contract stays intact as far as length and just becomes more expensive.
He could do the SS for 8 years and his salary will increase by then with 2 million and still have 5 years on contract, without winning a title or FF and a lot of money owned , similar to Calipari.
Of course, I am hoping that Pope will do better than SS, however, Mitch is horrible at signing contracts for the university!
So if he does what’s minimum required at Kentucky ( win first weekend in NCAA tournament ) his contract is automatically extended one year and increased 250k, so his 5 years initial contract stays intact as far as length and just becomes more expensive.
He could do the SS for 8 years and his salary will increase by then with 2 million and still have 5 years on contract, without winning a title or FF and a lot of money owned , similar to Calipari.
Of course, I am hoping that Pope will do better than SS, however, Mitch is horrible at signing contracts for the university!
Should be but not relatively common for Kentucky. However, the person who is responsible for doing what hasn't been done for 6 years is being rewarded for his unexpected success. Last week posters were going after him because he wasn't signing portal players fast enough. This week it is because his employer is rewarding him for work well done. At some point, some of you will run out of excuses for doubting, questioning, or criticizing Pope. One can only hope!!
Mitch probably took Cal’s contract template and just updated the name, dates and amounts… since Cal contract was so well written…
I could see this kind of thing 10 years ago when players were staying 3-4 years on average(accept at UK). Recruits wanted to know they were going to have the same coach for 4 years. But now, you are lucky to keep players for 2-3 years. I get that he did a good job in the first year and if you want to give him a bonus, go for it. He isn’t going anywhere or he has been lying this whole time. At least it wasn’t a lifetime deal.
Nobody is criticizing Pope for his contract. This is about Mitch,…
Barnhart refuses to learn from his mistakes. I support our coach but was unnecessary.
Just plain stupid.... not a big deal or years...but stupid Mitch crap all the same
1 one year extension
1. Beat Duke...great
2. Beat UL rival...great
3. Beat Zags...but they were not that great....decent
4. Had injuries mid way thru season....stinks that we had to overcome it
5. Lost at home to Ark....bad
6. Lost 11 games....pretty below par if you ask me
- Got drilled by Vandy, Ole Miss, Ohio St....and some were before the injuries started to pile up
7. Lost in quarters of SEC Tournament...'blah if you ask me
8. # seed in NCAA..pretty sollid but not great
9. Beat Troy in first round...who cares
10. Beat Illino in a 3 vs. 6 seed matchup...respectable but not great
11. Lose handily to UT in sweet 16....not good but not awful loss
Why does that get you an extra auto extension at UK?
1 one year extension
1. Beat Duke...great
2. Beat UL rival...great
3. Beat Zags...but they were not that great....decent
4. Had injuries mid way thru season....stinks that we had to overcome it
5. Lost at home to Ark....bad
6. Lost 11 games....pretty below par if you ask me
- Got drilled by Vandy, Ole Miss, Ohio St....and some were before the injuries started to pile up
7. Lost in quarters of SEC Tournament...'blah if you ask me
8. # seed in NCAA..pretty sollid but not great
9. Beat Troy in first round...who cares
10. Beat Illino in a 3 vs. 6 seed matchup...respectable but not great
11. Lose handily to UT in sweet 16....not good but not awful loss
Why does that get you an extra auto extension at UK?
Oh wow if he gives him a lifetime contract it’s one thing. Most of the same negative ones, who are crying about popes recruiting on one thread. It’s probably in his contract. We could have way worse than Mitch, I think some think that’s impossible.
Are you guys really crying over a 1-year extension? Is it possible for UK fans to not find some reason to criticize the program?
These contracts are goofy. I don't agree with a year tacked on for sweet 16 appearances. That should be reserved for making a final four or better IMO.
Pope is gonna succeed and win a title (at least 1) here but on the slim chance we are 3 years from now and haven't advanced past the sweet 16 this is a wtf extension. Say he makes 3 sweet 16s and loses n 2nd round once. That's 3 years added on with no results that matter.
Pope is gonna succeed and win a title (at least 1) here but on the slim chance we are 3 years from now and haven't advanced past the sweet 16 this is a wtf extension. Say he makes 3 sweet 16s and loses n 2nd round once. That's 3 years added on with no results that matter.
It easily gets you an extension when you consider the recent lack of success from the person he replaced. Maybe just maybe you guys are really not UK fans. Most likely you are simply Cal fans who just can't get past the fact that the blowhard is no longer here.
The way college ball is these days with the Portal and all, it's really not as much of an issue for a coach to be able to assure a player he'll be there all four years. So maybe a good approach would be to not have these automatic extensions and such start until after something like a three year period. Tie that first extension to a three year body of work and advancement in the program.
Mitch is a moron. Gives a guy an extension after one year and the guy has no desire to ever leave this job.
Some posters are just miserable people and have nothing better going on in their lives than complaining about a basketball program they don’t play for or coach. The worst part is most of said complaints are completely unwarranted.
Lastly, these extensions are meaningless. If Pope happened to go 10-21 two years in a row, he’d be fired no matter if he had 1,3,5 or 7 years left.
Guess Mitch is satisfied with Sweet Sixteens.
I like your idea, fleshed out a little more like this -- one year auto extension for the first time a coach makes each round from the S16 and on. So if next year we lost in the S16 again, no new extension. If we lost in the F4, he gets two years added. But then the only auto extension after that would be making the title game.
Pat Kelsey gets a million for each NCAA win he gets. Can anyone do the math for me? I don't have a calculator handy.
Maybe it was in his contract when he took the job at UK. Some of you fans need to THINK !
Oh for God's Sake.
You guys have skipped over into the ridiculus. You continually are moving the goal posts on any type of success. I will GUARANTEE that some of you were screaming for Mitch to give Cal an extension when UCLA came calling. Hypocrites.
Thus kinda garbage is unreal. 6 years without getting into the Sweet Sixteen and you guys just sniff at it. Elitist garbage.
You guys have skipped over into the ridiculus. You continually are moving the goal posts on any type of success. I will GUARANTEE that some of you were screaming for Mitch to give Cal an extension when UCLA came calling. Hypocrites.
Thus kinda garbage is unreal. 6 years without getting into the Sweet Sixteen and you guys just sniff at it. Elitist garbage.
I don’t think there’s anything at all to worry about with Pope. No matter what ends up happening I highly doubt he would do anything that would be a detriment to the school he absolutely loves
I believe he would walk away with nothing before letting anything happen to UK
I believe he would walk away with nothing before letting anything happen to UK
Beats not getting out of 1st round. Guessing it’s in Pope’s contract.
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Knee jerk reacting over minor things is more fun than boring ole thinking rationally. Lol
An extension was probably fair but not to the level Barney did. Cal had been to the sweet 16 in 8 of 10 seasons, elite 8 n 7 of 10, final four n 4 of 10, title game n 2 of 10 and 1 a title at that time.
He would have had 8 years added by 2019 if he got a year for every sweet 16. I wouldn't have liked that for him either.
It's barney we take issue with, not the coaches. If I was a coach I'd do it too n the contract.
This was in his contract from day 1 and I wasn't a fan of it then. I also wasn't a fan of when Stoops got an automatic extension for 7-5 regular seasons. It is common for Kentucky. Yes, I know the past handful of years have been the exception, but in the past 25 years, UK made the Sweet 16 in 13 of the 24 tournaments. From 2001 - 2019, UK made the Sweet 16 12 times in 19 years. You don't reward a guy for what should be the minimum expectation for job performance.
BTW, this isn't a criticism of Pope at all....this is a criticism of Mitch and his inability to make good decisions on contracts. I don't think it will happen, but Pope could go Sweet 16, Sweet 16, round of 32, Sweet 16, first round exit and be rewarded with 3 years added to his contract, and millions of dollars added to his buyout. It's just bad management from Mitch.
First, this happened a few weeks ago. Second the contract length is way less important than the buyout amount. Third, some people look for any reason at all to villify Barnhart.
Mitch would screw up a wet dream.
It's not about being a miserable person, it's about making good decisions in case things don't work out. The extensions aren't meaningless. There are buyouts tied to extensions. If we have not learned our lesson at UK from our basketball and football contracts and the importance of a buyout, then I don't know what to tell you.
It was in his contract and it' still a dumb clause in a contract. He has a 5 year contract that guarantees a year added on every time he makes a Sweet 16. It's a bad part of the contract.
His buyout is $21 million right now and will get a little higher with each Sweet 16. I'm far from an anti Mitch guy, as I've stuck up for him a number of times, but there are a few areas he struggles. Contracts is probably #1.
