If you are University of Hawaii football coach Nick Rolovich — and, really, who better to be on these shores these days — there is a lot to smile about.
For one thing, the Rainbow Warriors are atop their division in the Mountain West, a height last attained at this juncture six years ago. And they are 3-3 overall, a mark last reached five years ago.
For another, the ink is barely dry on generous precedent being set for rewarding rookie coaches. With the extension and amendment to the contract of men’s basketball coach Eran Ganot, there is a demonstrated willingness to reach deep in the wallet.
Ganot just got a $37,500 raise from the $232,500 he was due this year. And that $232,500, which kicked in five months ago, was already a $7,500 bump from what he received in March this rookie season.
The agreement will add at least $15,000 next year, another $15,000 in 2018-19 and $30,000 in 2019-20 to a total of $330,000. Plus bonuses.
Maybe not the money tree that Gib Arnold shook, but some serious coin nonetheless.
All a measure of UH’s appreciation for leading the ‘Bows to a school-record 28 victories, a Big West Championship and the school’s first NCAA Tournament victory. Part of the two-year extension and raise also being an acknowledgment that the program will likely serve the 2016-17 postseason in the NCAA doghouse, limiting Ganot’s immediate bonus possibilities.
Which means that unless UH has already emptied the piggy bank, this could become a very prosperous season for the school’s other first-year head coach, Rolovich — if the ’Bows stay on track to what could be a winning season.
It is still early in a regular season that will hit its halfway point Saturday, but the situation has the potential to pose some interesting questions down the road.
Such as, if you take degree of difficulty into consideration, not to mention impact on the athletic department’s bottom line, which of athletic director David Matlin’s hires would have the bigger accomplishment and, therefore, would deserve the most lucrative pat on the wallet?
Consider, for example, while Ganot inherited a ready-made team that won 22 games and was a victory away from going to the NCAA Tournament, Rolovich, the lowest-paid coach in the MWC ($400,008) has taken on the challenge of a program that didn’t win any conference games in 2015 and has been mired in a streak of five consecutive losing seasons.
While Ganot started the season with a handful of all-conference candidates, Rolovich had hardly any and, if quarterback Dru Brown continues to progress, he might have brought in the biggest piece to the puzzle.
And while Ganot was able to jettison some teams from his schedule to the point he ended up playing just one nonconference regular-season road game, for Rolovich there was no escaping the gauntlet of Cal, Michigan and Arizona, or traipsing the earth’s circumference to play them before starting league.
If you are an athletic director, having two coaches whose first-year performances merit rewards can be a nice situation to have.
Especially if you have the moolah.
Reach Ferd Lewis at flewis@staradvertiser.com or 529-4820.
