New Lamar University men’s basketball coach Alvin Brooks will make a significantly larger salary than his predecessor, keeping with the school’s recent trend of investing more money in its athletic leaders.
Brooks signed a five-year contract beginning with a $250,000 base salary, according to documents obtained by the Enterprise. The deal comes with automatic salary increases each season that will bring the average figure to $275,000 over the five-year span.
Former coach Tic Price, who was fired last month after a 10-18 overall season, made a base salary of $157,500 according to a contract signed in July of 2019. Because Price’s deal ran through the end of the 2021-22 season, Lamar was forced to pay him a buyout equal to one year of that base salary.
Athletic director Marco Born declined comment when contacted by the Enterprise.
Brooks comes to Lamar after spending the last decade as an assistant at the University of Houston. His full contract at Lamar, which the school said will be completed within 45 days of his hiring, will feature plenty of performance-based bonuses yet to be finalized.
Price’s contract allowed for up to $35,000 worth of yearly incentives for various accomplishments, such as conference championships or high Academic Progress Rate (APR) scores by the team. He also received a $3,750 monthly stipend for media responsibilities, as well as a $5,000 yearly vehicle stipend.
Brooks’ average salary of $275,000 over the five-year deal makes him the highest-paid coach at Lamar. Blane Morgan, who was hired to lead Lamar’s football team in late 2019, signed a four-year contract worth $265,000 annually.
Brooks has yet to officially name any assistants on his coaching staff, but Houston head coach Kelvin Sampson said earlier this week that Mikhail McLean will join Brooks at Lamar. McLean served as assistant director for player development at Houston.
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