Dave Shoji, the second-winningest coach in NCAA Division I women’s volleyball history, will remain at the University of Hawaii into his 70s under the terms of a new contract.
After operating for the past nine months under an expired agreement, the 69-year-old Shoji has a new multi-year deal and raise before him and his union, the Hawaii Government Employees Association, officials said. Terms, which were said to have been agreed to before the start of the season and language is being finalized, athletic director David Matlin said.
Terms were not disclosed pending execution of the contract.
“Dave has built a premier volleyball program in the (41) years he’s been coaching here and he’s also a community leader,” Matlin said. “Dave is volleyball in Hawaii and we want him to continue as long as he wants to.”
Shoji is 1,179-198-1 at UH.
Shoji’s most recent deal, which was signed in 2008, expired Feb. 28. The expired agreement, which paid him $179,328, is believed to be the longest contract (six years and eight months) ever given a UH coach.
The new deal is expected to make him the third highest paid coach in the 21-team athletic department behind football coach Nick Rolovich and men’s basketball coach Eran Ganot. Rolovich’s contract calls for a salary of $400,008 in each of his first two seasons. Ganot’s salary has not been disclosed.
It was an additional sign of Shoji’s stature that his last deal exceeded the listed salary range ($76,440- $143,472) by the maximum allowable 25 percent.
Even at that Shoji was not among the highest-paid coaches of women’s volleyball teams in the country this past season. Nebraska’s John Cook, for example, has a listed salary of $400,000 and Texas’ Jerritt Elliott is at $353,130.
Shoji, who led the Rainbow Wahine to the Elite Eight and a 29-2 season, is due more than $15,000 in bonuses for winning the Big West Conference and reaching the NCAA Tournament, under terms of his expired deal.
Volley Bucks
(A sampling of salaries for some leading public school women’s volleyball head coaches)
>> John Cook, Nebraska, $400,000
>>Jerritt Elliott, Texas, $353,130
>>Hugh McCutcheon, Minnesota, $287,231
>>Michael Sealy, UCLA, $196,000
>>Dave Shoji, Hawaii, $179,328*
>>Rich Feller, Cal, $165,000
* Before new contract.
Source: Star-Advertiser research.
CORRECTION
University of Hawaii’s Dave Shoji, with a record of 1,179-198-1, is the second-winningest coach in the history of NCAA Division I women’s volleyball, behind Russ Rose of Penn State with a record of 1,189-186. An earlier version of this story said Shoji had the most wins. |
