Cori Close received a standing ovation Tuesday from the University of California’s Board of Regents.
Next up could be a well-deserved raise for theUCLA women’s basketball coachwho just guided her team to a national championship.
The Regents are scheduled to discuss Close’s “contract compensation parameters” in a closed session on Wednesday afternoon at the Luskin Conference Center on theUCLA campus. Those discussions are necessary to grant any coach within the UC system a significant hike in their salary.
As it stands,Close’s current contractqualifies as perhaps the nation’s biggest bargain.
Not counting the performance bonuses she earned when her team won the title, Close made $1.2 million last season – just a fraction of her counterparts in the Final Four.
Texas coach Vic Schaefer reportedly made $2.3 million, UConn’s Geno Auriemma made more than $3.5 million and South Carolina’s Dawn Staley made more than $4 million – the highest salary of any women’s college coach in the country.
Of course, some context is required.
Auriemma has won a record 12 national titles and Staley has won three titles while also appearing in five other Final Fours. Schaefer has taken the Longhorns to the last two Final Fours after making one previous appearance at Mississippi State.
But Close, 54, has now also entered elite territory in her profession after 15 seasons at UCLA. She’s taken the Bruins to back-to-back Final Fours and just won the program’s first NCAA championship, beating Schaefer’s Longhorns and Staley’s Gamecocks along the way.
UCLA finished the season with a 37-1 record that established school records for wins and longest winning streak after the Bruins won their final 31 games.
Source: California Post – Breaking California News, Photos & Videos
