Schafer's salary

[dbilmes]

UConn just broke ground on a fancy new on-campus hockey rink, and also gave its coach a new contract. As reported in the Connecticut Post: "Hockey coach Mike Cavanaugh also received a contract extension that began in April, 2021, and runs through April, 2026, with a starting salary of $360,000, which will increase each season for a total package of $1.9 million, plus performance incentives and a retention bonus of $150,000 that will be paid on April 1, 2026 if he is still the UConn coach."
That made me wonder how his salary compares to Schafer's. Schafer has been coaching much longer and has a much better record than Cavanaugh, but large public universities like UConn also can afford to pay their coaches more money than private schools. However, Ivy schools aren't exactly poor. I'm assuming Schafer is getting compensated fairly compared to other coaches in the country. But since Cornell isn't required to release that information, all we can do is speculate.

[upprdeck]

The same Uconn that is trying to keep the fball program afloat is spending money on a hockey program like this?

[Beeeej]

UConn just broke ground on a fancy new on-campus hockey rink, and also gave its coach a new contract. As reported in the Connecticut Post: "Hockey coach Mike Cavanaugh also received a contract extension that began in April, 2021, and runs through April, 2026, with a starting salary of $360,000, which will increase each season for a total package of $1.9 million, plus performance incentives and a retention bonus of $150,000 that will be paid on April 1, 2026 if he is still the UConn coach."
That made me wonder how his salary compares to Schafer's. Schafer has been coaching much longer and has a much better record than Cavanaugh, but large public universities like UConn also can afford to pay their coaches more money than private schools. However, Ivy schools aren't exactly poor. I'm assuming Schafer is getting compensated fairly compared to other coaches in the country. But since Cornell isn't required to release that information, all we can do is speculate.

Interesting speculation from 2009 (and yes, I noticed):

http://bilmes.blogspot.com/2009/07/pucks-and-bucks.html

[billhoward]

Schafer has talked, at least jokingly, about wanting to live in a warm weather state in retirement, this at the Las Vegas tournament 2 years that was to be followed the next year by one in Arizona, and he noted these trips at least in theory gave the Schafers a chance to see what they thought of the Southwest.

His salary comes down to:
* We don't know
* It has to be competitive at least not insulting. Ned Harkness was making, what, $14,000 when he jumped ship from RPI for Cornell. although that's $120,000 in today's dollars. Or was it $7,000 he was making?
* Ithaca cost of living is low, quality of life is high
* Wall Street Friends of Cornell Hockey may have helped with investment advice and they can say (sorry, this is mean), "Look how you're doing compared to the Cornell Endowment Fund." (See recent NYT obit on David Swensen who ran Yale's endowment from $1.3B mid 1980s to $30+B now, passing Princeton and Texas but not yet Harvard. https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/06/business/david-swensen-dead.html)
* Schafer is in his late 50s so Cornell may sense he's not going to strike out for someplace else. But suppose Arizona State wants someone?
* His salary may be linked to basketball in this way: basketball matters more in somebody's mind and/but they can't pay Brian Earl (who still seems like a coach destined for greater things) more than the hockey coach who represents the glory that is Cornell sports. Well, wrestling, women's hockey and lax count, too.
* I used to have a lot of curiosity about this, less today, and now it is what it is.

[osorojo]

I hope the Connecticut taxpayers who fund this splendid coaching position get their money's worth in state taxes on hockey tickets.

[ursusminor]

* It has to be competitive at least not insulting. Ned Harkness was making, what, $14,000 when he jumped ship from RPI for Cornell. although that's $120,000 in today's dollars. Or was it $7,000 he was making?

Are those figures supposed to be what he was making at RPI or what he received at his start at Cornell?

[mas1969]

Not directly hockey related, but Rob Koll just left after spending 32 years building Cornell's wrestling program into a national power, leaving for Stanford.  Cannot help but think the Ivy League's inaction over the past year helped guide his decision.  Wonder if there will be others...

[Beeeej]

Not directly hockey related, but Rob Koll just left after spending 32 years building Cornell's wrestling program into a national power, leaving for Stanford.  Cannot help but think the Ivy League's inaction over the past year helped guide his decision.  Wonder if there will be others...

See the already existing discussion in the "Wrestling 2020-21" thread of the "Other Sports" section.

[Trotsky]

the Ivy League's inaction over the past year

#misinformation

The Ivies took action and protected their students.  The factory programs did not take action and bowed to pressure to allow a dangerous situation.

[Noneya Business]

That's right every Non-Ivy must be incorrect at all thigs...and also a "factory".  Only the Ivy League can make no mistakes (forget undeclared foreign donations).

#sanctimonious

Not having kids remain goal focused, committed, and tested in a relatively controlled environment was certainly also "protecting" them.  The kids actually playing likely had a lower positive rate.

[Jim Hyla]

That's right every Non-Ivy must be incorrect at all thigs...and also a "factory".  Only the Ivy League can make no mistakes (forget undeclared foreign donations).

#sanctimonious

Not having kids remain goal focused, committed, and tested in a relatively controlled environment was certainly also "protecting" them.  The kids actually playing likely had a lower positive rate.

As much as I missed hockey, I have to say that it seems the U did put their priorities in the correct order. They got thru a year with students on campus and very little problems.

Currently they list 15k students and 9k faculty/staff have been vaccinated, or 83% of on campus population. By any stretch those are wonderful numbers.

Adding one other number, the COVID test positivity rate for last week was 0.04%. Think about that, 0.04%,  incredible!

If you want to be safe, move to Ithaca and/or go to school at CU.

This past year will likely lead to a couple of tough seasons, but I still think they did the right thing.

And they proved, as have other countries, that if you did the right things, this virus would have been containable.

[upprdeck]

as it turned out the Ivies could probably played and gotten thru the season like all the bigger schools did.. many got thru it and did have issues and few became serious.  However the assumption that it would go that way was not a given..it could have gone very badly and given the ivies dont make a ton of money on it anyway not playing was not a huge hit to the budgets like it was for the P5 and other leagues had they not played.

[billhoward]

Not directly hockey related, but Rob Koll just left after spending 32 years building Cornell's wrestling program into a national power, leaving for Stanford.  Cannot help but think the Ivy League's inaction over the past year helped guide his decision.  Wonder if there will be others...

Stanford which rescinded the cuts in men's and women's varsity sports. Stanford apparently underestimated the desire of fans and alumni to see a strong sports program.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2021/05/18/stanford-reverses-sports-cuts-lawsuits/

The school intended to cut 11 sports: men's volleyball, wrestling, field hockey, men's and women's fencing, lightweight rowing, men's rowing, co-ed and women's sailing, squash and synchronized swimming. Stanford has won the Directors' Cup, given to the top athletic department in Division I, for 25 straight years. Those 11 sports have produced 20 national championships and 27 Olympic medals.

[Swampy]

Not directly hockey related, but Rob Koll just left after spending 32 years building Cornell's wrestling program into a national power, leaving for Stanford.  Cannot help but think the Ivy League's inaction over the past year helped guide his decision.  Wonder if there will be others...

Stanford which rescinded the cuts in men's and women's varsity sports. Stanford apparently underestimated the desire of fans and alumni to see a strong sports program.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2021/05/18/stanford-reverses-sports-cuts-lawsuits/

The school intended to cut 11 sports: men's volleyball, wrestling, field hockey, men's and women's fencing, lightweight rowing, men's rowing, co-ed and women's sailing, squash and synchronized swimming. Stanford has won the Directors' Cup, given to the top athletic department in Division I, for 25 straight years. Those 11 sports have produced 20 national championships and 27 Olympic medals.

This is great for Stanford athletics, and I'm very happy for their athletes. However, I've seen Stanford athletes act very obnoxiously.

And, as I've said elsewhere, I'm sick and tired of Cornell being a stepping stone/feeder for other schools. Stanford in particular has been feeding on Cornell for over 130 years!

Stanford also has up and coming lacrosse and hockey teams. Although they're still club teams, look at their web sites. These are programs with varsity aspirations. At some point, climate and money can move even coaches who are Cornell alums.

[ugarte]

And, as I've said elsewhere, I'm sick and tired of Cornell being a stepping stone/feeder for other schools.

You really have to stop thinking of Koll using Cornell as a stepping stone. It's unhealthy. He *made* the Cornell program a modern powerhouse. He was here as head coach for almost 30 years. If you read between the lines on Koll's departure, or put any stock in the rumor mill, Koll was looking for a way out and Stanford was a fortuitous opening.

Among the reasons given: he wasn't pleased with the way the ivies didn't return to competition when most of the country did,  the possible 2022 retirement of andy noel, a wrestler himself and a close friend of Koll's, the weather in Palo Alto and the opportunity to build Stanford the way he built Cornell. In an interview with Flo he said that the salary rumors are ridiculous and he'd have made more money if he stayed (don't know if it's true but it's what he said.)

There are also rumors he was facing potential reprimand for coordinating unsanctioned team workouts (no idea if this one is true). Willie Saylor, formerly of Flo, reported that if Stanford didn't come through he was planning to return to his alma mater in Chapel Hill and run their Olympic Regional Training Center.

We ended up with a great, young coach that our best wrestlers love and respect. I hope Mike Grey can maintain the program. I am not worried that we will get poached by Stanford.