South Carolina boosts salary for Holtz and his assistants

Posted 8:52AM on Sunday 31st March 2002 ( 22 years ago )

COLUMBIA, S.C. - A second Outback Bowl victory brought a second straight raise for South Carolina coach Lou Holtz. Holtz received an increase of $25,000 to raise his base salary to $200,000 a season after the Gamecocks went 9-3 and beat Ohio State 31-28 in the Tampa, Fla., bowl for the second year in a row. Holtz, 65, had his contract restored to its original five-year agreement after the 2000 season when the Gamecocks went 8-4 and beat the Buckeyes 24-7 at the Outback. All other provisions of Holtz's contract, which is worth a bit more than $1 million a year, remain the same, according to South Carolina sports information director Kerry Tharp. ``Certainly, the job that coach Holtz has done has been extraordinary,'' Tharp said Saturday night. ``The staff he's assembled has been a teriffic fit for the school and the program.'' Holtz was in Orlando, Fla., for Easter weekend and not immediately available for comment. Holtz's contract allows him to leave simply by writing a letter to the university and waiting five days. The school also can write the same escape letter as Holtz to let him go. All his assistants, except Joker Phillips who was hired in January, were given raises by the university. Skip Holtz, the coach's son and team's offensive coordinator, had his contract restored to its original five-year status. Skip Holtz remains the highest paid assistant, going from $140,000 to $155,000 a year. Defensive coordinator Charlie Strong, who was a candidate for head-coaching jobs at Cal and Vanderbilt this offseason, was also bumped up $15,000 to $135,000. The rest of the coaches, their raises and new salaries are Chris Cosh, $14,000 to $124,000; John Gutekunst, $16,650 to $119,650; Dave Roberts, $15,000 to $110,000; Paul Lounsberry, $12,000 to $105,000; Todd Fitch, $8,190 to $90,000; and Dave DeGuglielmo, $5,190 to $87,000. Phillips, who spent last season with Notre Dame, will make $95,000 this season. All the salary increases will come from athletic department funds. The raises for the assistants took effect this past January. Holtz's raise dates from March 1. Holtz gave fans some anxious moments after Notre Dame called him to consult on its head-coaching search. Gamecock supporters feared the worst, especially in December wen Holtz denied he was a candidate for his old Irish job but admitted ``I can't say no to anything.'' On the eve of the Outback Bowl, Notre Dame hired Tyrone Willingham and South Carolina fans let out a large sigh of relief. Holtz says he will continue to coach as long as his health and that of his wife, Beth, remain strong. Holtz's wife battled throat cancer during their first season with the Gamecocks. She still goes for periodic checkups that so far have not brought bad news. There's little question of how Holtz feels. He jogged to his car outside St. Joseph's Catholic Church on March 24 and said he was ``feeling pretty good.'' And there's little doubt how he feels about his team, despite the losses of key personnel like quarterback Phil Petty, tailback Derek Watson, linebacker Kalimba Edwards and cornerbacks Sheldon Brown and Andre Goodman. ``I think this team has a chance to be better next season,'' Holtz said last fall. For the Gamecocks to improve again, they'll have to go places they never have before. No South Carolina team has ever won as many games in a two-year stretch as Holtz's teams in 2000 and 2001 with 17 victories. Holtz is the only Gamecock coach with consecutive bowl wins, let alone New Year's Day victories. But Holtz has still struggled with South Carolina's traditional Southeastern Conference thorns. He's a combined 0-6 against Tennessee and Florida since taking the job here. South Carolina closes spring practice with the annual Garnet-and-Black game on April 13.

http://accesswdun.com/article/2002/3/196691