Good Morning, Professors! ☀️

If you’ve already had spring break, hope it was a good one. If you’re about to have it, enjoy it and take a breather. The good news is we’re always here for you at Extra Points … regardless of the academic calendar!

It’s coaching carousel season. There are roughly 40 openings in Division I men’s basketball right now, and while many have been filled, March Madness highlighted the success of several year-one head coaches. Ben McCollum (Iowa), Bryan Hodgson (South Florida), Ryan Odom (Virginia), Bucky McMillan (Texas A&M) and others all made noise. It reinforces the reality that in the transfer portal era, coaches are expected to compete immediately, especially if they can bring talent with them.

Athletic directors are also getting more creative with contracts, particularly when hiring from other schools. That includes building in layered buyouts, along with tampering and poaching language, similar to what VCU popularized. Take this example:

(If you want another example, head over to the EP Library and look at Eric Olen at New Mexico!)

In addition to a traditional buyout, a coach’s new school can agree to a home-and-home series or pay an additional $500,000 to opt out. Most choose to pay the amount, effectively creating a second stream of buyout revenue. After all, few coaches want to return to the place they just left.

In some ways, these buyouts are also going toward paying players. Take our coach?

Great. Pay the buyout.

We’ll use your money to outbid you for the players you want in the portal.

In the classroom, this opens up a strong discussion point.

What other creative clauses could be added to better protect an institution?

Keep in mind, Newton’s third law applies here too. For every action, there is a reaction. A massive buyout isn’t always the answer. Agents and coaches may not agree to it at the mid-major level, and it also requires equally significant termination protections if things don’t work out or a coach ends up being paid not to coach at all.

Professors, as we wind down this month’s newsletter, I wanted to share an offer for those teaching a summer course.

If you’re interested in incorporating Extra Points Library, AD Simulator, and our other offerings into your class, we’re offering a $20 per student rate for summer courses. Feel free to reach out if you’d like more details.

Lastly, we’re building a more streamlined and trackable experience for your students this fall. One link, one payment, with everything housed in one place. We also have some strong updates coming to Extra Points Library that are currently in beta testing. It will be more customizable and should save time for both you and your students when it comes to research.

As always, here to help.