MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — On the heels of West Virginia hosting an NCAA baseball regional for the first time in six decades, Big 12 coach of the year Randy Mazey may not be the league’s lowest-paid coach much longer.
Athletics director Shane Lyons confirmed to The Dominion Post that contract discussions with Mazey’s representatives are progressing toward an extension that could be finalized within the month.
The Mountaineers recently finished this season with a 38-22 record, earning an NCAA bid for the second time in three years after previously failing to make a postseason dent since 1996. Mazey’s seven-year mark at West Virginia improved to 227-176 and his teams have finished fourth or higher in the conference standings four times.
Mazey’s $360,000 salary this season was augmented by incentives that paid him:
— $25,000 for making the NCAA tournament
— $25,000 for winning conference coach of the year
— $5,000 for making the Big 12 tournament
— $4,000 for overseeing a team APR above 930
— $2,000 for WVU selling 500 season tickets
He stands to earn an additional $25,000 bonus if West Virginia finishes the postseason ranked in the USA Today coaches poll. The Mountaineers were 15th in the final regular-season poll with another set of rankings due out after the College World Series.
Mazey’s currently deal stretches through 2022 (based on the last extension he received in 2017) and pays him an annual $25,000 retention bonus each August.
The Big 12’s top-paid baseball coaches are TCU’s Jim Schlossnagle ($1.1 million) and Texas Tech’s Tim Tadlock ($1 million), followed by David Pierce of Texas ($792,000), Baylor’s Steve Rodriguez (reportedly in excess of $650,000) and Oklahoma State’s Josh Holliday ($600,000). Rich Price at Kansas makes $400,000, while Oklahoma’s Skip Johnson earns $385,000 and Kansas State hired Pete Hughes last season at $375,000.
West Virginia’s contract negotiations could include more pay for assistants Steve Sabins ($150,000) and Mark Ginther ($105,000), each of whom are operating on one-year deals that expire June 30.
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