Regent on Pitino: Show me the money

Steve Addy

Thursday, Jan. 11, 2001 | 10:34 a.m.

If UNLV has made Rick Pitino a firm offer to become its next basketball coach, the university better not be making promises it can't keep or promising money it doesn't have.

That was the warning from UNLV regent Mark Alden on Wednesday after Pitino revealed he is coming to Las Vegas next week to discuss the coaching job with university officials.

Alden said he doesn't want UNLV caught in another financial mess like the one created by the $1.9 million buyout of coach Rollie Massimino in 1994. If outside funds are promised to lure Pitino, such as permissible contributions from boosters, Alden wants UNLV to be insulated.

"The question is, where's the money?" Alden said. "Promises were made the last time, and we got caught holding the bag. As soon as Massimino got cut loose, everybody disappeared. I don't want the university spending money the state can't afford.

"If money is being promised, I want it locked up somewhere, in escrow, so we know it's there."

In 1994, it was revealed that Massimino had signed a secret supplemental contract that paid him $375,000 per year in addition to his $511,000 salary. Ex-UNLV president Robert Maxson and ex-athletic director Jim Weaver agreed to pay the money from discretionary funds, on the promise of booster contributions.

When Massimino was forced out, he threatened to sue UNLV for the remaining $4 million on his contract, but president Kenny Guinn bought him out for $1.9 million on Oct. 14, 1994.

For five years, until September 1999, Massimino was paid $377,083 annually from the buyout. He was the highest-salaried state employee during that span.

If boosters such as Desert Inn owner Steve Wynn intend to foot the bill for part of a Pitino contract, Alden says, "Show me the money," or don't count on his support.

"If any contract comes my way that leaves the university exposed, whether it's for (current coach) Max Good or Rick Pitino, I'm going to vote no," he said. "I am not going to let that happen on my watch. I might be the only regent who votes no, but, oh well.

"We are an academic institution. Athletics is a wonderful thing, but academics always has to come first."

Theoretically, it might not be necessary for the university to suffer undue financial exposure. Though NCAA rules prohibit direct benefits from boosters to athletes, coaches are allowed to receive outside income as long as it is disclosed and approved by the athletic department.

If Pitino were lured to Las Vegas with help from Wynn, who reportedly met with Pitino about the coaching job, Wynn could pay him for "bona fide outside employment," as outlined by NCAA Handbook rule 11.3.2.1.

The rule says a staff member can earn income "by performing services for outside groups, provided the compensation is for additional work actually performed." Payment must be "commensurate with the going rate in that locality" and be pre-approved by the university.

In Pitino's case, he is a popular speaker who has written books on motivation and leadership. His university compensation could be supplemented with income from those fields.