ORONO, Maine — Jack Cosgrove has been the head football coach at the University of Maine for the last 20 years.
Cosgrove, whose five-year contract expires June 30, 2013, is waiting until the end of the season to discuss a possible extension.
Cosgrove said he and UMaine athletics director Steve Abbott sat down and talked in September about the coach’s future, but asked to table any further discussions until the Black Bears’ season ends on Nov. 17.
“I have been approached about a future here, but I just thought the timing was bad,” Cosgrove said of their meeting, which came after the season had begun.
“If it becomes a media thing, it distracts from the season,” he said. “It needs to be secondary to the needs of the team.”
Cosgrove is in a position similar to that of five years ago, when the 2007 season ended with his future at UMaine unresolved.
Abbott, whose father Walter was Cosgrove’s coach at UMaine, said Thursday he wants Cosgrove to stay on and will discuss an extension after the Bears finish up on Nov. 17.
“We’re extremely pleased with the job that he’s doing,” Abbott said. “He has coached for 20 years at the university and has done a tremendous job. We would be delighted to have him coaching here in the future.”
Cosgrove is earning a base salary of $175,000 this year, which makes him the second-highest paid coach at UMaine behind men’s hockey coach Tim Whitehead ($190,000).
Cosgrove’s teams have registered a combined record of 108-117 in 19-plus seasons. UMaine has made four trips to the NCAA playoffs, including four appearances in the national quarterfinals in 2001, 2002, 2008 and 2011.
This season, UMaine is 2-5 (1-3 CAA) heading into Saturday’s game at William & Mary.
Base is $175,000 I could bet benefits are about another $100,000 not talked about.
His salary is low compared to his peers (although I don’t think he deserves a raise):
CAA head football coach salaries (fiscal year 2009)1. K.C. Keeler, Delaware, $310,6622. Mickey Matthews, James Madison, $248,0003. Sean McDonnell, New Hampshire, $183,0004. Jimmye Laycock, William & Mary, $179,4005. Rob Ambrose, Towson, $169,2006. Jack Cosgrove, Maine, $155,000
The median salary for head coaches in the Football Championship Subdivision, formerly known as Division I-AA, is $180,000 and is on the rise, according to Amy Perko, executive director of the Knight Commission, which advocates financial responsibility in college sports.
Do they all have 63 players on scholarship?
The head coaches of the major sports get unpublicized additional payments through the UME Foundation, so that anyone’s “low” base salary is not his/her complete base salary. Of course the ever lower salary–without additions–for most UMaine faculty as compared with their peers is off the table for the System negotiators, all of whom get at least $100,000. They continue to lie about how allegedly well paid almost everyone at Orono is so they can continue to use any of their millions to provide any modest pay increase after several years of pay freezes. For them, the best faculty is a retired faculty, replaced by poorly paid adjuncts and by online teachers “from away.”
Wages in Maine are lower than A lot of places . College Sports in general spend way more than they bring in . Who pays for this? well many people who do not play sports . Like tax payers tuition etc. Just because his wages are low dose not mean it is right. Yes some benefits one might even claim a net gain . That will do nothing to lower my son tuition or lower taxes.
Yes, Abbott, get him signed for an extension. You don’t need to be conducting two national searches in the same year. Save that energy for your search for a new hockey coach when you finally fire Whitehead after this season.
Whitehead’s not going anywhere. Get used to him.
I’m going to get used to him hitting 95 South and never coming back.
HOPEFULLY
Can someone please explain to me why Abbott waited till the season started to approach The Crazy Uncle about an extension, considering he just produced a top 10 ranking finish last season, which was the highest in program history???????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????
This explanation ought to be good :)
“UMaine football coach Cosgrove won’t discuss contract until end of 2012 season”
Didn’t the “end of the season” occur last weekend??????????????????????????????
A record of 108-117 is hardly ‘tremendous’
As Pete Warner put it last month when, presumably under pressure, he recanted any criticisms of UME Athletics as expressed in a Weekend BDN story, our top coaches are working for peanuts and only their loyalty to UMaine stops them from going elsewhere at higher salaries. About as accurate as his usual one-sided cheerleading for UMaine. Not exactly Red Smith!
How about we do it Piece work. He gets 50,000 base salary and 15 grand for every win, nothing for a loss and 5 grand for a tie. If they make the playoffs, he gets a bonus. If they make the national playoffs, then another bonus and so on. IF for some amazing reason he wins the 1AA title, well then you can give him a 100,000 bonus….which i would guess is pretty darn safe based on his previous records..
It’s simple – “Cos” has made U-Maine Football relevant on the national field. This year has been an exception in the W-L column. Who would you be able to bring in that would do a better job, that wants to be here? Resign him.
No need for a national search to replace Timmay. Jim Montgomery and Grant Standbrook are building a dominant powerhouse in the USHL (where 90% of top-tier DI talent comes from) and just waiting out the Whitehead situation. Montgomery+Standbrook+Corkum = the return to dominance of Maine hockey. Simple enough…
A tremendous job…..”Cosgrove’s teams have registered a combined record of 108-117 in 19-plus seasons”….care to rephrase Steve???
Whitehead should go now and Cosgrove does not want to discuss his contract.HUMMM maybe he is going to a different college to coach next year. Maybe being a bench coach. Fire Whitehead at 190K. that is sick of you Abbott to let this go on for the rest of the hockey year.
I bash Cozzy ball from time to time, but he does get it done occasionally. This year was obviously going to be down with a new kid at QB. But where did last year come from? That was pretty fun!
Abbott needs two whiteheads to get reid of Timmy know. Do not wait until the end of the year for another half jacK@Ss year.
Cosgrove makes Maine relevant every other year, and makes them a playoff contending team every 3-4 years in the best conference in FBS. He has done a great job at Maine.
If you want Maine football to be a doormat of FBS, then let him go. Otherwise, resign a good person who has been successful.