CLEVELAND, Ohio – Scribbles in my Cleveland State notebook starting with the new coaching contract for Daniyal Robinson:
1. Before dealing with Robinson’s new contract, let’s close the book on former coach Dennis Gates. He left for Missouri and a 6-year, $16 million deal. Gates had signed a new 6-year, $3 million deal with CSU in May of 2021. Part of that contract led to Missouri paying CSU $600,000 for allowing Gates to leave after one year.
2. Robinson’s contract pays him a base salary of $325,000 over the next five years. He can receive a $25,000 bonus annually if the athletic director determines the basketball program stayed out of NCAA trouble and did a decent job academically. His contract also pays an annual bonus of $25,000.
3. If a CSU player makes the Horizon All-Academic team, the coach receives a $10,000 bonus. It matches the $10,000 bonus he’ll receive for making the NCAA tournament, winning the regular season Horizon League title or winning Horizon League Coach of the Year honors.
4. The contract has an emphasis on academic performance, the same as with Gates. CSU had a 3.29 team GPA in the three years with the former coach. The team GPA was slightly above a 2.0 when Gates took over on July 26, 2019.
5. If the team has a GPA over 2.8, it’s a $2,500 bonus. If it’s over 3.0, it’s another $2,500 bonus. There are lots of bonuses for high rankings in APR (Academic Progress Rate). CSU had an APR of 980 in 2021-22, which would trigger a $7,500 bonus.
6. If CSU advances to the NCAA tournament, the coach will receive an automatic raise to $400,000 annually for the remaining years on his contract. There are bonuses for things such as reaching the NCAA Final Four ($50,000).
7. Here’s how the buyout works: If he leaves after one year, the buyout is $1.3 million. If he leaves after two seasons, it’s $975,000. After three seasons $650,000. After four seasons, $325,000.
8. The budget includes $450,000 for salaries of assistant coaches. That was the same Gates had in his new contract.
9. The day after attending the team meeting with Robinson, CSU stars Tre Gomillion and D’Moi Hodge confirmed their names were already in the transfer portal. So far, those are the only two in the portal. They still can return to CSU for their final year of eligibility. But word is they will be visiting Missouri this weekend and probably hope to play for Gates in 2022-23.
10. Hodge also wrote he was “entering the 2022 NBA draft.” He’s not hiring an agent, so he can return to school. Hodge was the Horizon League Defensive Player of the Year and made the first team All-Horizon League. While the 6-foot-4 Hodge led the Vikings in scoring (15.4), he’s not NBA material right now. He needs another year of school before figuring out what comes next.
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