Utah State Basketball is coming off of one of the best years ever, going 28-7, winning its first outright Mountain West Conference Championship in arguably the strongest Mountain West Conference of all-time, and capping it off with an NCAA Tournament Victory for the first time in 23 years over the TCU Horned Frogs. While there was a lot to celebrate, shortly after the end of the season Aggie Nation was sent into a tailspin with the news that Danny Sprinkle had accepted a job with the University of Washington. Coach Sprinkle worked miracles at Utah State, returning no points, rebounds or assists from last season and put together a roster that worked together and simply won games.
The next chapter at Utah State will be led by Coach Jerrod Calhoun. Calhoun has been the head coach at Youngstown State for the past seven seasons, leading the Penguins from the cellar of the Horizon League to two consecutive 20+ win seasons the past two years with limited financial and fan support. Coach Calhoun was announced as head coach on March 30th, 2024, with his introductory press conference on April 2.
USUStats was able to obtain a copy of Jerrod Calhoun’s initial contract with Utah State. This is not the finalized contract, but a higher level agreement between Coach Calhoun and the University. It includes the main important aspects, but does not yet define details for bonuses that may be achieved through in-season accomplishments.
Here’s the breakdown of what is included in the contract:
Total Compensation (Including Base Pay and Media Compensation):
Year 1 – $925,000
Year 2 – $950,000
Year 3 – $975,000
Year 4 – $1,000,000
Year 5 – $1,025,000
The base contract is five years at $925K per year with a $25K raise each year.
Bonuses:
The bonuses are not specified, but the agreement states that the incentive payments will be “reasonably consistent with the terms of incentive payments for USU’s most recent head men’s basketball coach.” Coach Danny Sprinkle’s contract details can be found on this blog post from March, 2024.
Assistant Salary Pool:
$750,000 for Assistant Coaches
$150,000 for Director of Basketball Operations and Administrative Staff Positions
These numbers are far increased from anything we have seen in previous basketball contracts at Utah State. For comparison, Danny Sprinkle received $530,000 + $150,000 for assistant coaches and other staff positions.
Buyout Clause (in my own words):
If Utah State were to terminate the agreement for convenience (i.e. USU fires Calhoun for low performance), they are required to pay 75% of the pro-rated amount of base pay still remaining on the contract.
For example, at the start of his employment, Coach Calhoun has a total of $4,875,000 in remaining total compensation on the 5-year agreement. If he were to be immediately fired, he would be owed 75% of that which would be $3,656,250. If he were to be fired after the completion of his second season he would be owed $2,250,000 ($3,000,000 * .75).
If Coach Calhoun were to terminate the agreement for convenience (i.e. Calhoun leaves for another position elsewhere) before the completion of his first year at Utah State (on or before March 31, 2025), the buyout starts out at 80% of the remaining cumulative total compensation owed. If he were to leave on or after April 1, 2025, the buyout is reduced to 60% of the remaining total compensation on his contract. So if Calhoun were to leave after his second year at Utah State, he would be required to pay USU a buyout of $1,800,000 ($3,000,000 * .60).
Click the image below to download the full initial contract agreement.
I’ve been meaning to make a blog entry for quite some time now on this subject, and I’m finally getting around to it. I’ve been fascinated that media and fan perceptions of the move to the Mountain West Conference and schedule strength increases from last year to this year appear to be a bit out of touch with reality (in my statistically-based world, anyway). 
