Alabama extends AD Moore's contract
University of Alabama athletics are on the rise and with them, athletic director Mal Moore’s salary.
The university’s board of trustees voted on Wednesday to extend Moore’s contract through to the summer of 2014, offering the NCAA legend a six-figure bump in salary plus a wealth of performance incentives.
"The confidence shown in me is humbling, but it is really a show of confidence in our student-athletes, our coaches and our staff," said Moore in a statement released to the press. "Due to their fine work, we just completed one of the most successful years in our athletic history and our future is bright. There is plenty to accomplish on the conference and national levels and I am looking forward to the challenges ahead. I'm extremely excited about the direction of Alabama athletics."
Moore, part of 14 SEC football championship teams and earning seven national titles as either a player or coach, won his eighth last year as the programs athletics director. He’ll earn $550,000 this season – up from $425,000 – including several lucrative performance incentives based on the results, both on the field and in the classroom, of the football and men’s and women’s basketball programs.
According to ESPN, Moore is in line to receive $50,000 for each national title won in those sports. He would receive $20,000 should the football program make it to SEC title game and an additional $20,000 if they emerge victorious.
On the hard court, Moore would rake in $40,000 if either program walks away as the regular season conference champions or with a tournament title. He will receive $20,000 should they finish the season first place in the western division.
Off the court, Moore will receive $40,000 if the graduation rate for student-athletes is higher than Alabama’s undergraduates overall. Should UA’s graduation rate finish first, second or third in SEC, Moore’s bonus jumps anywhere from $50,000 to $75,000 but all academic bonuses for Moore are contingent on UA sports across the board avoiding NCAA academic progress penalties.
Given the numbers, Alabama is certainly showing their commitment to an athletics director that has given so much back to the program; during his 11-year tenure as an administrator, Moore has overseen $200 million in facility upgrades for the football, basketball and baseball programs. When the season opens on September fourth, Bryant-Denny Stadium will be the fifth largest in college and pro football, housing over 101,000 fans after the latest expansions are complete.
Moore’s time as athletics director has also seen Alabama make five trips to the NCAA men’s basketball tournament, their best finish coming in 2004 with an Elite Eight loss to Connecticut, and three runs in the NIT tournament, finishing as high as runner-up after a 2001 loss to Tulsa in the championship game.
On the gridiron, the results are obvious; Moore’s Crimson Tide are coming off an undefeated season and their first national championship in 18 years.
"He's been a fabulous partner to work with here as an athletic director," said Tide football coach Nick Saban. "I think Mal's foresight in terms of building facilities and doing the things here to set the table when people didn't have a real positive attitude about this program [...] That he had the foresight to do it is one of the reasons we've been able to be successful.”
While much praise has been given to Moore, his time as athletics director is not without controversy.
In June, the NCAA announced sanctions against the university for a textbook scandal in 2007 involving over 200 college athletes. According to the report, student-athletes had improperly used their scholarships to acquire textbooks for boyfriends, girlfriends and other athletes as well as acquiring books and merchandise unrelated to their academic activities. At the time Moore said the sanctions, which include three-years probation, a vacating of records and $43,000 in fines, were severe considering “not one athlete pocketed one dollar” and that the university would “carefully consider their options regarding appeal.”
More recently, the NCAA is also looking into the matter of whether Alabama Defensive lineman Marcell Dareus received improper benefits from an agent. Dareus is projected as a first round pick in the NFL draft but his eligibility could be jeopardized should the allegations prove to be true.
But despite recent troubles, Moore and his associates at UA as well as in the SEC seem to be happy with the direction of Alabama’s athletics program.
“While working tirelessly on behalf of the University, Mal is a valued colleague to all of us who have the pleasure to work with him,” said SEC commissioner Mike Slive on behalf of the conference.
“He has certainly done everything he can do to help us be successful as an athletic department, as well as a football program," added Saban.
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