TN Employees Face Job Cuts, but Fulmer Gets a Pay Raise
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By Josh Smith
Anchor / WJHL
Published: July 16, 2008
I know this story broke a few weeks ago, but some viewer email prompted me to bring it to the blog.
University of Tennessee coaches Phil Fulmer and Bruce Pearl just got pay raises. Vols fans may or may not agree they deserve it based on the records of their teams. But a viewer was really cranked up about this because of Tennessee’s money trouble and the pending cuts and state employee layoffs
Here’s the Associated Press story from July 2nd.
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Tennessee signed football coach Phillip Fulmer and basketball coach Bruce Pearl to new deals Wednesday that will keep them with the Volunteers through 2014.
Fulmer’s deal is worth an average of nearly $3 million over the next seven seasons, and the nearly $1 million raise makes him the fourth-highest paid coach in the Southeastern Conference.
He will get $2.4 million for the upcoming season and his salary escalates to $3.3 million in 2014 with automatic raises of $150,000 annually. Fulmer will also receive raises for achieving certain goals, such as an additional $350,000 for winning an SEC championship or an additional $850,000 raise for winning a national championship.
(end of AP story)
I’m surprised Fulmer is just the fourth hightest paid SEC coach. With his record and his years of experience with the Vols, I would have guessed that he’d rank first or second.
What do you think? A slap in the face for state employees… or a well-deserved pay raise for two hard-working coaches?
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Reader Reactions
Posted by ( rawbleedorange ) on July 21, 2008 at 8:50 pm
dadw5boys,,,,if the student-athletes become injured and cannot play,,their scholarships are still honored.
in response to the blog,,,37601 hit the nail on the head,,,plus consider that fulmer has put 40 years into coaching at the college ranks,,so he has definately paid his dues.
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Posted by ( nanaof150 ) on July 18, 2008 at 1:50 pm
GO VOLS!!! This goes for all the athletes.
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Posted by ( 37601 ) on July 18, 2008 at 10:29 am
You are only looking at one side of the coin.
What Fulmer is getting paid is pretty much market value for his services.
But there is another side to this. How much revenue does UT Football bring in?
It is enough to pay Fulmer’s salary, all football related expenses, all other deficient UT athletic programs (including woman’s basketball which sometimes ends up in the red), all UT athletic expenses and scholarships, and some even goes to UT’s general fund.
Fulmer pays for himself, and to be realistic, replacing him with equal talent would be far more expensive than this raise.
Here’s to a great season in 2008.
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Posted by ( nanaof150 ) on July 18, 2008 at 9:20 am
I honestly don’t believe their records deserve this type of pay raise when others are having to tighten up or are facing losing their jobs. Pat Summit is doing better than both of the men together.
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Posted by ( dadw5boys ) on July 16, 2008 at 10:16 am
THEY CAN PAY HIM $3 MILLION BUT CAN’T BUY DISABILITY INSURANCE FOR THE PLAYERS WHO GET HURT OR TOTALLY DISABLED AND ARE FORCED TO QUIT SCHOOL OR HAVE THEIR SCOLARSHIPS PULLED WHEN UNABLE TO PLAY??
WHY WOULS ANY ONE PLAY WHEN THERE IS NOT RESPECT FOR THE PEOPLE WHO ACTUALLY MAKE HIS HIGH INCOME POSSIBLE?
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