After winning the National Championship at Connecticut this season, Huskies coach Kevin Ollie is reportedly in line to get a pretty nice pay day. According to ESPN, UConn is prepared to give Ollie a sizable raise in hopes of keeping him in Storrs for the foreseeable future.
UConn wants to double Kevin Ollie’s pay to keep head coach
Ollie is rumored to be a candidate for the Los Angeles Lakers job.
Kevin Hoffman-USA TODAY Sports
Ollie was paid $1.25 million this past season, his second as coach. He received a seven-month contract when he was hired to replace Hall of Famer Jim Calhoun. In December 2012, Ollie was given a five-year contract worth $7.5 million.
The source said the Huskies are looking to pay him in the neighborhood of $2.4 million to $2.6 million annually.
ESPN’s sources also told the network that it would take “something substantial” for Ollie to leave after his title season, but considering the suitors, UConn isn’t taking any chances.
After former Los Angeles Lakers coach Mike D’Antoni resigned from that position, the organization was said to be in pursuit of Ollie and Kentucky coach John Calipari. ESPN quoted a source at that time saying the Lakers were looking to “make a splash” with their new hire. Considering Ollie is less than a month removed from his first National Championship and not long removed from being an NBA player — he retired in 2010 — he would certain fit as a “splash” hire.
If Ollie were to get $2.6 million per year, that would have put him in the top 10, earnings-wise, of last year’s NCAA Tournament coaches, according to USA Today, while a salary of $2.4 million would have put him in the top 15. This year, he ranked 34th, consistent with Cuonzo Martin, who left Tennessee to take the Cal job, and Gonzaga’s Mark Few.
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