USF signs Leavitt through 2012

[E.T.]

...

why give him an extension after all the nonsense with not recruting a qb and  all of the underachieving

Last year recruited Hill & GrothE

After a 4-7 year, BULLS are Bowling.

And a very bright future.

Go BULLS !!!

[E.T.]

... - and everyone is happy?

Interesting...

VERY Happy  ;D

P.S. Shallow mind to base a coach on 1 play ...  :

[E.T.]

... ability to "win the big one", but really, how many "big ones" has he been involved in?

...I would go as far to say that he should be given 2 more years before we can truly evaluate the job Leavitt has done.

...

Did any of that make sense?

....

DANG ! I agree with all of it  

[E.T.]

USF Gives Leavitt 7-Year, $7 Million Deal

By BRETT McMURPHY bmcmurphy@tampatrib.com

Published: Nov 30, 2005

TAMPA -- Kansas State offered Jim Leavitt more money, a chance to follow his mentor, Bill Snyder, and compete in a more prestigious conference.

Ultimately, though, Kansas State couldn't offer the one thing that mattered the most to Leavitt: the ability to stay home in Tampa Bay.

The only coach in the University of South Florida's history remained that Wednesday, agreeing to a new seven-year, $7 million deal through the 2012 season. Leavitt, who was hired to start USF's football program from scratch in 1995 for $75,000, is a $1 million man.

"Everybody knows I grew up here and it means a whole lot to me," said Leavitt, a St. Petersburg native. "Obviously, I love the University of South Florida and I really wanted to build a heck of a program."

Because of Leavitt's ties to Kansas State -- he was an assistant under Snyder from 1990-95 -- Leavitt emerged as the Wildcats' No. 1 choice to follow Snyder, who resigned Nov. 15.

However, Leavitt turned down a six-year, $9 million deal from Kansas State to remain at USF.

"It would have been an extremely great fit," Snyder said Wednesday about the possibility of Leavitt coming to KSU. "I would never say, 'Jim you have to do this.' He's a grown man for crying out loud. [He] wouldn't listen to my commands anyway."

Leavitt's USF deal makes him the 34th-highest paid coach among the 66 BCS schools -- he was the fourth-lowest paid under his old deal, according to an athletic directors survey obtained by The Tampa Tribune -- and makes him the third-highest paid Big East coach.

The Bulls, picked to finish seventh in the Big East this season, are 6-4 with Saturday's regular-season finale remaining against West Virginia and likely will earn a berth in either the Meineke Car Care or Motor City Bowl.

"We went into this year, most people thought we'd maybe win a couple [of games]," Leavitt said. "And we've shown a little bit more than that. We competed a little bit.

"We're certainly disappointed about last week [losing at Connecticut]. But isn't that a great thing to be disappointed we didn't win a Big East championship?"

A major difference in Leavitt's new deal is the buyout. The previous contract had a $50,000 buyout, a ridiculously low amount for a Division I-A BCS coach, but the new deal has a $500,000 buyout, although it doesn't take effect until Jan. 1, 2006.

"I think it's important for everybody involved to show that this is a great place," said Leavitt, 61-37 in nine years. "I'm very fortunate to be here."

Leavitt's deal also increased the pool for his nine assistants, who are the lowest paid in the BCS, by $100,000 to $850,000 in 2006.

"It's critical because you can't do anything without a great staff," Leavitt said. "And this staff has worked extremely hard.

"I've said from the very beginning that USF is one of the best coaching jobs in America. I really feel that way. I am very fortunate to coach for USF and it's something I will never take for granted."

Cape Coral quarterback Nate Allen, who committed to USF Wednesday, was excited Leavitt was staying.

"I was hoping he would stay and keep building the dynasty at USF that he's going to build," Allen said.

USF President Judy Genshaft also was thrilled.

"We recognize how important Jim Leavitt is to the future of USF athletics," Genshaft said. "He has built this program in record time, and we are happy to do everything in our power to keep him here."

Snyder said he is happy for Leavitt.

"It's a great tribute to Jim," Snyder said. "It allows him to understand how much he is cared for. That's a hard thing when you manufacture a program from scratch. He's had great success and has great class. You don't dismiss that. That's a big part of Jim Leavitt."

K-State athletic director Tim Weiser told reporters at halftime of KSU's women's basketball game that he wasn't surprised about Leavitt's decision.

"The announcement today was something we've known for quite some time," Weiser told GoPowercat.com.

"I've said from the very beginning that USF is one of the best coaching jobs in America."

See the link, great info:

http://bulls.tbo.com/bulls/MGB3DBE1OGE.html

And this was worth repeating !  8)

However, Leavitt turned down a six-year, $9 million deal from Kansas State to remain at USF.

[E.T.]

Big raise locks up Leavitt

Forget about it, Kansas State. USF football coach Jim Leavitt agrees to a new seven-year deal worth $1-million a season with much tougher buyout clauses.

By GREG AUMAN, Times Staff Writer

Published December 1, 2005

TAMPA - Jim Leavitt is staying right here.

The only head coach in USF's 10 years of football, closing in on the program's first bowl appearance amid speculation he might succeed his mentor Bill Snyder at Kansas State, agreed to a new seven-year contract that will pay him $1-million a season to stay with the Bulls through 2012.

It's a significant raise for Leavitt, who will make 45 percent more in the next four years than he would have under his previous contract.

"I came here for $75,000 my first year, and I was happy to get that," said Leavitt, who turns 49 Monday. "I've said from the very beginning that USF is one of the best coaching jobs in America. I am very fortunate to coach for USF and it's something I will never take for granted."

The money is a testament to how far Leavitt has taken the Bulls in just nine seasons, from Division I-AA to Conference USA to this fall's surprising success with a 6-4 record in the Bulls' first year in the Big East.

"Any time you have a coach that has success, they get attention across the country," athletic director Doug Woolard said. "Regardless of that, I think this was the right thing to do at the right time. Jim's done such a great job of building this program from literally not having a program to being in contention as late as we were for a BCS game."

More significantly for Bulls fans, under his new contract, it will cost a lot more for another school to pry Leavitt away from USF. The buyout in his old deal was a measly $50,000, loose change for a major college football program, but that buyout is now $500,000 until 2008. Then it drops to $400,000 for four years.

"I think it was important for everybody involved to show this is a great place and I'm fortunate to be here," said Leavitt, who was previously courted for vacancies at Indiana and Alabama. "I think I've made that pretty clear with different things through the years."

The timing is curiously urgent, given Leavitt's aversion to any distractions during a game week - his Bulls close the regular season at home Saturday against No.12 West Virginia - and Woolard's previous stance of not negotiating contracts while a sport is in season. Woolard said Wednesday that he was never contacted by Kansas State for permission to speak with his coach.

Leavitt, who worked under Snyder from 1990-95, dismissed questions about the Wildcats, declining to comment on whether he'd been offered the job or even had conversations with his former employer.

"I'm focused on South Florida," said Leavitt, who has a 61-37 record in nine seasons at USF. "I'm not even going to enter into any of those things."

Leavitt said a "critical" part of his new deal was a 23 percent raise to the pool of money for his full-time assistants. Leavitt's staff made a combined $690,000 this season, but that figure goes up to $850,000 in 2006 and increases by $100,000 each season. By 2012, he'll have twice as much money to pay his assistants as he did this year.

"You can't do anything without a great staff," Leavitt said. "This staff has worked extremely hard. We went into this year, most people thought we might win a couple. We've shown a little more than that. We're disappointed about (last week's 15-10 loss to Connecticut), but isn't that a great thing that people are disappointed we didn't win a Big East championship?"

The new deal allows Leavitt to stay close to home. His family moved to St. Petersburg when he was 8, and he graduated from Dixie Hollins. Next month will mark the 10th anniversary of his hiring at USF.

"As long as he's happy, he can go wherever he wants, but yes, it's nice to have him close," his mother Lois said.

Leavitt coached only three seasons on his previous seven-year contract before renegotiating, and he's likely to do the same again. His last deal had a salary that escalated by 10 percent each year, but this contract has his total compensation level at exactly $1-million each year through 2012.

His 2006 base salary is $600,000, barely up from the $541,948 he was scheduled to make, but his supplemental pay from TV and radio appearances leaps from $50,000 to $375,000, with another $25,000 paid in an annuity. The only new bonus added is a $75,000 incentive if the Bulls reach a BCS bowl.

Leavitt told his players of the new deal before Wednesday's practice, saying he was their coach for the rest of their time at USF, "whether you like it or not." After two weeks of uncertainty, the Bulls certainly like the news.

"It's a big relief. I'm glad he signed again," redshirt freshman running back Ricky Ponton said. "He's a big reason why I came here, and I'm a firm believer in what he's doing. He's brought this team a long way."

[E.T.]

...

Nothing regarding the assistance . . . hoping to hear something ...

Leavitt said a "critical" part of his new deal was a 23 percent raise to the pool of money for his full-time assistants. Leavitt's staff made a combined $690,000 this season, but that figure goes up to $850,000 in 2006 and increases by $100,000 each season. By 2012, he'll have twice as much money to pay his assistants as he did this year.

"You can't do anything without a great staff," Leavitt said. "This staff has worked extremely hard. We went into this year, most people thought we might win a couple. We've shown a little more than that. We're disappointed about (last week's 15-10 loss to Connecticut), but isn't that a great thing that people are disappointed we didn't win a Big East championship?"

[E.T.]

http://www.kansas.com/mld/kansas/sports/colleges/kansas_state_university/13297475.htm

Leavitt staying at South Florida so he can finish what he started

By WRIGHT THOMPSON

The Kansas City Star

TAMPA, Fla.  Pierce and Lois Leavitt sat side by side, like they’ve been doing for more than half a century, telling stories about their baby. To the people in Tampa, he’s Jim Leavitt, 48, local celebrity. To them, he’s Jimmy, the youngest of four.

They know their children  a school teacher, a pastor, a missionary and a football coach  and if the Leavitt kids share any trait, it’s that they won’t ever leave a project before it’s finished. They’re true believers, as sincere as the worn book of Lutheran hymns on the family piano.

“I don’t know if any of them have dropped anything in the middle,†Lois said on Wednesday afternoon in their St. Petersburg home.

Pierce nodded. He grew up on a South Dakota farm, sleeping under his dog for warmth when the blizzards came, the times too tough to turn on the heater. His family heard all his stories of growing up Depression poor, of flying P-51s over the Pacific. They learned to persevere from their old man.

“I think all of them finish what they start,†he agreed.

Across town a few hours later, on the University of South Florida practice fields he quite literally built from the ground up, Jim Leavitt proved his parents right. Despite interest from Kansas State, he was staying in Tampa, getting a seven-year contract extension worth about $1 million annually. The Wildcats would have to keep looking; the former K-State defensive coordinator had declined to follow his mentor.

“Coach Bill Snyder is one of the greatest coaches who ever coached the game, and he means everything to me,†said Leavitt, who played his college ball at Missouri and began his coaching career there as well. “Everybody knows that’s a great job; my goodness.â€Â

After being linked with many high-profile openings in the last few years, Leavitt finally had his big payday, and he’d gotten it at a place he loved, a place he created.

“Everybody knows I grew up here,†he said. “It means a whole lot. This community has been the best. This is a great place to be, and I feel this is one of the best jobs out there.â€Â

While K-State fans figured any disciple of Snyder would race back to Manhattan to take the reins, the people who knew Leavitt seemed fairly certain all along that he wouldn’t leave.

“It’s his baby,†said ex-player Shawn Hay, one of his first recruits. “He created it. I don’t see him giving up what he’s built. Not this early, anyway.â€Â

And it would be hard for him to move far away from his 80-year-old mother and 83-year-old father, both of whom love it when he drops by for some of Mom’s roast beef, or just to knock back a bit more caffeine.

“When he comes here for lunch,†Pierce said, laughing, “we always have a cold Pepsi waiting on him.â€Â

The USF football program was born, fittingly enough, 10 years ago in his parents’ living room.

The place on 57th Street was the first house the Leavitts ever owned, and the only real home Jim ever had. He was in fourth grade when they settled there, after his dad retired from the service.

More than 30 years later, there in the living room, Leavitt and assistant coach Rick Kravitz sat down and drew up the blueprints for a dream. Soon after, they traded his parents’ home for a trailer  not an auspicious beginning. Certainly not a selling point for his first group of recruits.

“It was one trailer,†Hay said. “There were no USF emblems on the wall. Nothing. Just a trailer and, ‘Hey, we’re gonna have a football program, do you wanna be part of it?’ â€Â

Leavitt did everything. He sat up all night watching concrete dry, making sure the fence around his practice field was perfectly straight. He ordered the uniforms, asking his parents whether they had any thoughts on the matter.

Almost two years later, South Florida played its first game. From the very beginning, the team was told of the Manhattan Miracle. That would be its guide.

“ ‘This is how we did it at K-State,’ †Hay remembers hearing. “ ‘When I got to K-State, we were nothing and we turned it around, and this is what we did.’ He just modeled things the way they turned it around there. It had a lot to do with Snyder.â€Â

Leavitt’s attention to detail eventually resulted in success. First, they moved from I-AA to I-A. Then to Conference USA. Then to the Big East. This year, they came within a hair of a BCS bid. They have actual offices now, and top-notch facilities. All thanks to Leavitt’s vision. On Wednesday, he got paid a king’s ransom for that vision, and he seemed embarrassed by the number of zeroes.

“I came here for $75,000,†he said, “and was happy to get it. It’s not all about money with me.â€Â

He comes from a family of successful people, all of whom have dedicated their lives to building. His sister Diana builds young minds. His brother Rusty, the pastor, builds up souls. His oldest brother, Randy, who flew planes in Vietnam, now builds churches in storefronts in poor communities in Texas, moving on only after roots have taken hold.

This isn’t a family of glory hounds, and when Jim’s actions are viewed alongside those of his siblings, his motives become clearer. And any doubt where his heart lies can quickly be put to rest with one walk through his parents’ house. All around the place are pictures of his brothers and sister, with all of their children smiling around them, 12 grandkids in all.

Then there’s Jim.

He’s divorced, with no kids of his own. In his photo on the table by the door, he’s alone, decked out in USF Bulls gear, with a grin stretching from here to here. It’s a portrait of a man in love, and, looking at the joy written all over his face, everything makes sense. The football program is his wife and his children. It’s his family.

“That’s his thing,†his mother said, quietly. “That’s all he cares about.â€Â

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

To reach Wright Thompson, sports reporter for The Star, call (816) 234-4856 or send e-mail to wthompson@kcstar.com

Great read, didn't know that about his siblings.

[E.T.]

LEAVITT'S NEW DEAL

INCENTIVES

• $50,000 Conference championship

• $50,000 Conference coach of the year

• $25,000 Non-BCS bowl berth

• $75,000 BCS bowl berth

[nukebull]

Great news all around

[E.T.]

Money Not What Matters To Leavitt

JOE HENDERSON

Published: Dec 1, 2005

TAMPA -- It's easy to say a guy who is going to make $1 million a year coaching football isn't doing it for the money, but that's true in Jim Leavitt's case. As much as the University of South Florida is going to pay Leavitt to coach the Bulls for the next seven years, he still could have made a lot more money by going to Kansas State.

But the new contract Leavitt agreed to Wednesday says as much about what makes him tick as it does to affirm USF's official entry into the world of Division I-A high finance. It represents the largest commitment the school has made to a coach, but if Leavitt had played this strictly for the money, the Bulls wouldn't have had a chance.

Not that $1 million a year is chump change. The new contract almost doubles Leavitt's salary and includes raises for his assistants, but it still leaves him somewhere in the middle among the 66 BCS coaches. He was the fourth-lowest paid in that group.

Then again, Leavitt can never be accused of hop-scotching from school to school just for a fat paycheck. After he turned down Alabama -- twice -- a few years ago, I asked how he could possibly reject a chance to stand where Bear Bryant had stood. His answer was enlightening.

"If I win a national championship there, I'm just another guy who won a national championship at Alabama," he said. "But if I win it at South Florida, I'm the first guy who did that. Know what I mean?"

When he spoke those words, it seemed laudable but, at the same time, almost laughable. South Florida? A national champion? Then again, who ever would have thought we could link the words "Sugar Bowl" with USF, as happened this year? The Bulls are in a BCS conference now, and they have a chance to play in big-boy games every year.

In other words, they have the same opportunity as Kansas State and Alabama.

Quick Action

K-State never asked for permission to speak with Leavitt, but that's not how these things work anyway. Friends of friends make "inquiries" -- unofficially official ones -- to gauge a coach's interest. Auburn never asked to talk with Louisville's Bobby Petrino a couple of years ago, either, but that didn't stop the school's president and athletic director from getting on a plane and flying to meet him.

There was never a doubt Leavitt was at the top of K-State's list, and it was an attractive gig. Give USF some credit for recognizing that and acting quickly.

Rather than wait for Kansas State to ask permission -- it probably would have been too late for the Bulls at that point -- Athletic Director Doug Woolard worked out the parameters of a deal during a couple of days this week.

"We only started talking about this in the last couple of days. When this first came up, Jim really wanted to concentrate on the UConn game [last week], and I tried to honor that," Woolard said.

"We knew that after the Kansas State job opened, there could be an interest there. But regardless of other situations out there, he has gotten us positioned where we want to be and we wanted to reward that and strengthen our commitment to him. As we talked, it was evident to me he wanted to stay here."

The other thing this does is put a more punitive buyout in place -- $500,000 if Leavitt leaves before 2008, then $400,000 if he departs before the last year of the contract begins (2012). It had been just $50,000 -- tip money for a big football school.

A true predator school will come up with a way to pay the higher fee if Leavitt appears atop another list, but at least a buyout like this is more realistic and gives USF at least a small measure of protection. More important than the money is the message Leavitt has sent to his players currently in place and those yet to come.

Uncharted Territory

Remember what Leavitt said about Alabama, and then consider this from Woolard.

"Any time you have success in coaching, you'll become an attractive commodity, and Jim certainly is," Woolard said. "But since the time I got here, it has been obvious to me Jim wanted to be part of this program.

"He has a chance to build a legacy like no one else in college football. Who else started a program at I-AA, then moved to I-A, and then into the BCS? That's unique, and I think that was important to him. He grew up here; his family was here, and this is home. It all added up, and when you consider the remarkable job Jim has done with this program, I think he wanted to stay here and see it through."

Leavitt isn't fool enough to say the money doesn't matter, but it's not his major motivation. He does not lead an extravagant life. Give him a darkened room and a stack of football tapes, and he's a happy guy. Oklahoma's Bob Stoops, one of Leavitt's best friends, loves to kid him about that. He keeps asking why Leavitt even needs money, since he spends his life in a film room or on the practice field.

So now, Leavitt can do what he most enjoys -- try to figure a way to win Saturday's game against West Virginia. He can tell recruits he is staying, and mean it. And USF doesn't have to go shopping for a replacement who surely would have cost more than it took to keep the guy it already has.

What's the commercial say? Priceless.