Minority Coaches On the Move In High-Profile Basketball Programs
By Frank J. Matthews
It’s not unusual for the annual postseason coaching carousel to deposit old faces in new places. But for the minority head coaches playing musical chairs this off-season, the destinations may feel strangely familiar.
Mike Anderson, former head coach at the University of Alabama-Birmingham, recently accepted the head job at the University of Missouri, where he will go face-to-face with some of college basketball’s perennial power programs. Taking his place at UAB is Mike Davis, who endured a contentious six-year relationship with fans while coaching at Indiana University. But IU quickly tagged the University of Oklahoma’s Kelvin Sampson, the only American Indian head coach in the NCAA, to take the reins after Davis’ departure. And last month, Virginia Commonwealth University head coach Jeff Capel jumped ship to take Sampson’s place at Oklahoma.
Last season, Anderson guided UAB to a 24-6 record and an NCAA Tournament appearance. The move from ConferenceUSA to the Big XII means a step up in competition and in compensation for the coach. Anderson will earn a base salary of $250,000, but endorsement deals and incentives push his guaranteed yearly income to $850,000. If he meets all of his incentives — including winning the national championship, being named national coach of the year and winning the Big XII title — his salary could swell to roughly $1.5 million.
Capel is also making the move from a “mid-major” — the Colonial Athletic Association — to the Big XII, but he is no stranger to the college basketball spotlight. He played for perennial powerhouse Duke University under head coach Mike Krzyzewski and was a solid contributor on Duke’s team, which went to the 1994 National Championship. Anderson was an assistant on Nolan Richardson’s University of Arkansas squad that beat the Blue Devils for the title that year. Capel, now 31, was the youngest head coach in Division 1 when he was hired by VCU four years ago. Since then, VCU has recorded the highest-winning percentage and most wins of any D-1 program in Virginia. Capel’s contract is similar to Anderson’s, as he will earn a base annual salary of $200,000, with another $400,000 in guaranteed outside income and $200,000 in incentives.
