COLUMN: Pay Duryea his money
Nothing re-energizes a hungry fanbase quite like slimy contract disputes.
If the rumors are to be believed, Utah State hoops’ ex-head coach Tim Duryea is being denied his final year’s salary due to some bad math. An apparent discrepancy in his contract cuts what should’ve been a five-year deal short, concluding the university’s legal obligation to pay the man an annual salary of $379,000 in June 2019 instead of 2020.
The story broke with Cache Valley Daily reporting the following Quote of the Year candidate from Tim’s wife Angie —
“We have supporting documents that says it is five years. The intent was five years and they are trying to weasel out of it. Seventeen years and this is what we get.”
Angie’s got no reason to pull punches. Tim and Angie Duryea have been card-carrying members of the Aggie faithful since 2001, with Tim acting as a model assistant coach for 14 seasons before earning the head coaching gig in 2015. Say what you will about his firing — I for one support the program’s new direction — but I haven’t heard one negative thing about the man’s character in three years. The same can’t be said for USU athletics as of late.
Utah State has no reason to do Tim dirty. For an athletic department trying to draw a brighter spotlight on its basketball program through a splashy new hire, attempting to squirm out of Duryea’s final contract year seems like the worst possible move at the worst possible time.
I realize budgets aren’t built on paying employees for being stand-up guys, but this seems like an unnecessarily shrewd way of doing business. Tim’s a likable guy who many feel was set up to fail from the beginning. Not only does this further enforce sympathy for a coach who went 47-49 despite a host of unfortunate injuries and transfers, it also sends a clear message to new head coach Craig Smith that loyalty is not at all a priority with this program.
Banking a year of Duryea’s salary doesn’t seem worth the long-term damage this could cause a disillusioned group of fans already savoring reasons to slam this team. The only way this doesn’t end poorly for USU athletics is to pay the man his money, and to do it quickly before this generates more negative attention.
Read the contract. The contract dates are clearly stated. Tim, his agent, and his lawyer all reviewed it and signed it with those dates dictating the length of his contract . The 5 years, as stated in the contract, spans 5 fiscal years and you’ll find similar verbiage in Coach Wells’ contract. Now he’s offended about being fired and he’s doing whatever he can to stick to the athletics department. The guy was overpaid for the results he provided the last 3 seasons. The AD and fans should be asking for a refund.
He didn’t sign for 5 fiscal years,he signed for 5 years at 379,000 per year. He signed in the presence of the AD and the president of the university. The agreement was fiive years among all of them. Pay the man his damn money and quit trying to slime your way out of it.