Salary details for Fran McCaffery, Lisa Bluder, Tom Brands, more Iowa coaches with contract extensions

IOWA CITY — Iowa announced nine contract extensions for its head coaches on Monday. The Gazette received contract details for all nine head coaches via open records requests as well as the salary for new Iowa football director of player development Jason Manson.

Base salaries do not include additional sources of outside income, such as public appearances, TV and radio programming, apparel and shoe contracts and any performance bonuses. Those are included in coaches’ total annual compensation.

Yearly adjustments such as “exemplary conduct, positive performance, salary market data and departmental budget” will dictate the bulk of bonuses and salary adjustments for baseball, softball, soccer, field hockey, women’s tennis and golf coaches. Some examples of these include coach and player awards, as well as academic performance of the teams.

Fran McCaffery, men’s basketball

Fran McCaffery’s total compensation in the 2020-21 season was $2.5 million according to the state of Iowa salary book, and will increase to $2.9 million in the upcoming 2021-22 season, according to his contract obtained by The Gazette. McCaffery’s compensation is expected to swell by $100,000 every year except from 2022-23 to 2023-24, when it will increase by $300,000.

In addition, McCaffery will receive a longevity incentive of $100,000 by Aug. 1, 2022, and $200,000 in 2023. His total compensation by 2028 is expected to be $3.7 million. He committed to a 15-percent salary reduction in the wake of cost-cutting measures during the COVID-19 pandemic, which expired at the end of June.

Lisa Bluder, women’s basketball

Lisa Bluder’s 2020-21 base salary was $599,941, but amounted to over $1 million in total compensation by the end of the season. Her new base salary for the 2022 fiscal year, which started on July 1, 2021, is $776,394.

According to her previous contract in 2013, Bluder received automatic two-year extensions for NCAA tournament qualification. Subsequent NCAA tournament appearances resulted in one-year contract extensions, and by participating in the NCAA tournament in 2021, Bluder’s contract extended to 2026. Her contract was extended by two years in 2019 for both winning the Big Ten tournament and participating in the NCAA tournament.

Bluder will receive annual longevity bonuses of $200,000 for remaining at Iowa through June 30 of 2022 and 2023, then $225,000 in 2024 and 2025. Bluder was one of the coaches who agreed to a 15-percent salary reduction from July 2020-21.

Tom Brands, wrestling

Tom Brands concluded the 2020-21 season with an annual compensation of $434,999 and received a contract extension through June 2028 with an annual compensation of $450,000 in the 2021-22 season. His base salary will increase by $25,000 in the 2022-23 season, and will continue that trend in the 2024-25 season and 2026-27 seasons. By 2028, Brands’ annual compensation will be $525,000. Brands also agreed to a 15-percent salary reduction this past year, which expired at the end of June.

Rick Heller, baseball

Rick Heller’s base salary increased from $323,950 in 2020-21 to $341,000 in 2021-22. He concluded the 2020-21 year with $369,000 in total compensation.

Bonuses will be cumulatively earned by each conference and national achievement whereas his salary percentage increase is contingent upon the team’s highest finish at the conference or national level. Those percentages range from 7 percent for a Big Ten championship to a 20-percent increase for a national championship, but do not compound cumulatively.

He will receive an additional longevity incentive of $20,000 each year for staying at Iowa through June 2026.

Renee Gillispie, softball

Renee Gillispie’s contract works similarly. She concluded the 2020-21 season with a base salary of $141,525 and total compensation of $160,516 and will now start with a base salary of $153,000 per year. Her salary adjustment is based on the same performance measures, but does not have percentage salary increases clearly defined by each achievement as Heller’s. That is subject to discretion yearly.

Gillispie can receive a bonus for either a Big Ten regular season or tournament championship, but not both like Heller’s. National tournament bonuses will be determined by the team’s best finish.

She’ll receive a $10,000 longevity bonus each year through 2024.

Dave DiIanni, soccer

Dave DiIanni will receive $165,000 in base salary and is subject to both salary adjustments and bonuses as well. He can earn all bonuses for team conference achievements, but, like coaches listed above, national tournament bonuses will be determined by his team’s best achievement. His previous base salary was $142,500, but he ended the year at $167,697 in total compensation.

He will receive a longevity bonus of $30,000 if still employed by June 30, 2024.

Lisa Cellucci, field hockey

Lisa Cellucci will make an annual $172,000 in base salary, per her new contract, after receiving a base salary of $147,659 in the 2020-21 season. Her salary percentage increases range from a 4-percent increase for a top-four and top-five conference finish to a 10-percent salary increase for an NCAA top-four finish. She can also receive bonuses based on the team’s highest finish in the conference and nationally.

Cellucci’s total compensation after a Final Four appearance, Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year and other accolades in the 2020-21 season amounted to $225,707.

She will receive a $15,000 longevity bonus each year through 2026.

Sasha Schmid, women’s tennis

Sasha Schmid’s annual compensation includes both her base salary and compensation from the HERkys account, since she serves as both the media liaison for HERkys and assists with the Senior Woman Administrator initiatives.

Her annual compensation will be $125,000 in the upcoming season and will increase by $5,000 each year through the 2024 season. She can receive all bonuses based on conference performance and will only receive bonuses from highest finishes in singles, doubles and team performances at the national level.

Her longevity bonus is $5,000 each year on June 30 for the duration of her contract. In 2020-21, Schmid finished the year with a base salary of $101,745 and a total compensation of $105,313.

Megan Menzel, women’s golf

Iowa head women’s golf coach Megan Menzel will receive a base salary of $89,864 per year and will receive bonuses based on conference, NCAA, academic and coaching achievements. Her base salary in the 2020-21 season was $87,168 and she finished the year with $94,864 in total compensation.

Jason Manson added to football staff

New Iowa football director of player development Jason Manson will receive $100,000 in annual salary with a $10,000 relocation incentive on July 1 and a one-time $30,000 signing incentive after 30 days of employment. His base salary will increase to $130,000 on July 1, 2022. His position will be eligible for career status after 24 months of employment.

Comments: leah.vann@thegazette.com