Not returning to his Iowa alma mater helped make Kansas' athletic director a wealthy man; Bob Elliott joins Chuck Long as San Diego State administrators

Lew Perkins, who played basketball at the U. of Iowa in the mid-1960s, is in line for a $750,00o pay bump because he has stayed put as Kansas University's athletic director.

Kansas is adding the amount to a retention payment due to Perkins this summer because he declined efforts made by Iowa in June 2006 to recruit him as its athletic director.

Iowa had notified Kansas it was interested in hiring Perkins away two years ago. KU didn't identify Iowa as that school this week, but in June 206 Perkins said he was contacted by Iowa officials about the job that went to Gary Barta shortly afterward.

Kansas is happy with Perkins. KU basketball not only remained strong, but won a national title under Bill Self after Roy Williams jumped to North Carolina. Jayhawks football has had some of its best years in decades recently, under the guidance of Mark Mangino.

Time magazine ranked Perkins as one of the nation's top sports executives last year after Kansas became the second school to win the national basketball title and a BCS bowl in the same year.

Perkins, an Iowa graduate, said two years ago: “Obviously, the University of Iowa is dear to my heart. I evaluated it. I took emotions out of it. This is where I want to be.”

Meanwhile, another former Hawkeye athlete (and coach) just took a big pay cut in athletic administration, but at least he's working.

Bob Elliott, the defensive coordinator on the San Diego State football staff of Chuck Long that was dismissed last December, will remain employed by SDSU.

Elliott has a position just created for him. He'll help raise funds among former letter-winners and oversee the athletic department's courtesy car program for coaches and staff.

After earning $194,000 last year, Elliott will be paid about $92,000 in his new job. But most of the rest of the coaches on Long's staff were let go altogether.

Long's contract called for him to be reassigned to a different position if he were fired before his contract expired at the end of 2010. So he'll make over $700,000 this year and next as things currently stand. His job, as the San Diego Union-Tribune reported, is to do “projects” for SDSU athletics.