TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Alabama Coach Nick Saban is getting a new eight-year contract worth at least $93.6 million, eclipsing the recent megadeal of Southeastern Conference rival Kirby Smart.
The University of Alabama trustees compensation committee on Tuesday approved a one-year extension through Feb. 28, 2030 for the 70-year old Saban, who has led the Crimson Tide to six national titles. Saban’s deal averages out to $11.7 million per year, topping Smart’s $11.25 million pay at defending national champion Georgia.
The announcement comes a month after Smart agreed to a 10-year deal worth more than $110 million. The Bulldogs beat Alabama in the national championship game in January.
The two join Ohio State’s Ryan Day, LSU’s Brian Kelly, Michigan State’s Mel Tucker and Texas A&M’s Jimbo Fisher as college football coaches who will make at least $9 million in 2022.
Saban’s deal includes a salary and talent fee of $9.9 million this year with $400,000 annual raises. Saban can receive an $800,000 completion bonus at the end of February in each of the next four years, plus other bonuses.
“(Wife) Terry and I are very appreciative of the unmatched commitment the university has shown to this football program and our family over the last 15-plus years,” Saban said in a statement. “This is our home, and we look forward to finishing our career at Alabama.”
His contract ensures his pay will remain at or near the top of the heap among college football coaches.
Saban would get a boost if his deal is less than the average total pay of the three highest paid Southeastern Conference coaches or the average of what the five paid coaches in college football are making. He’d receive the higher of the two averages.
Saban agreed to a three-year extension in June 2021 for $84.8 million over eight years.
Alabama Athletic Director Greg Byrne is receiving a three-year extension through June 30, 2029 with a 5 percent raise. He’ll make $1.49 million this year with raises pushing his salary to $1.91 million for 2028-29.
MARSHALL: Running back Rasheen Ali, one of the nation’s top freshman rushers last season, is taking a leave of absence for undisclosed reasons, Coach Charles Huff said.
Ali’s exit comes less than two weeks before Marshall opens the season Sept. 3 at home against Norfolk State of the Football Championship Subdivision.
Ali rushed for 1,401 yards and 23 touchdowns last season and was expected to be a big part of the offense again as Marshall enters its first season in the Sun Belt Conference.
No timetable was given for Ali’s return.
WASHINGTON: Washington is going with Michael Penix Jr. as its starting quarterback for the season opener against Kent State, Coach Kalen DeBoer said.
Penix, a transfer from Indiana, had been considered the leader for most of the offseason in the competition with Dylan Morris and Sam Huard.
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
CHAMPIONSHIP GAME: The NCAA women’s basketball title game will be broadcast this season on ABC for the first time.
The championship game, which usually airs in prime time, will be played at 3 p.m. on April 2. The women’s Final Four is in Dallas this year.
Last season’s championship game, in which South Carolina beat UConn, was the most viewed women’s title game in nearly two decades, drawing 4.85 million viewers. The national semifinals averaged 2.7 million viewers, up 21% year over year, and was the most viewed semifinals in a decade. The full tournament averaged 634,000 viewers, up 16% from the previous year’s coverage.
ESPN has aired NCAA women’s tournament games on ABC for the past two seasons but not the title game.
MEN’S BASKETBALL
EASTERN MICHIGAN: The school announced that 6-foot-9 guard Emoni Bates will play for his hometown Eagles this season, nearly two months after Bates shared his plans on social media.
He averaged 9.7 points and 3.3 rebounds per game last season as a freshman at Memphis, where he enrolled after reclassifying to skip a year of high school and join the class of 2021.
Bates became the first sophomore to win the Gatorade national player of the year award in high school basketball in 2020, beating out Cade Cunningham and Evan Mobley. Detroit drafted Cunningham No. 1 overall last year, two spots before Cleveland took Mobley in the 2021 NBA draft.
Bates committed to playing for Tom Izzo at Michigan State two years ago, later de-committed and signed with Memphis. Bates played in 18 games for the Tigers, who finished 22-11 under Penny Hardaway. Bates missed much of the season with a back injury before appearing in Memphis’ two NCAA Tournament games.
Bates announced in April that he was leaving the school and later said he would decide among Michigan, Arkansas, Seton Hall, DePaul, Louisville and Eastern Michigan.
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