Here are details of new Eastern Michigan basketball coach's contract
New Eastern Michigan head men's basketball coach Billy Donlon has agreed to a six-year contract that will pay him at least $450,000 a year.
New Eastern Michigan head men's basketball coach Billy Donlon will earn at least $450,000 annually, after agreeing to a six-year contract earlier this week . Donlon has signed a term sheet which has been obtained by The Detroit News through an open-records request. He is set to be formally introduced in an on-campus press conference in Ypsilanti in the coming days.
He is still with Clemson, as an assistant coach, for its NCAA Tournament run, which begins Friday against Iowa in Tampa, Fla. According to details of the term sheet Donlon signed Tuesday, his salary will start at $450,000, and it will rise by $15,000 a year, to $525,000 in the sixth and final year of the contract. Donlon, 49, who previously was a head coach at Wright State and Kansas City, is taking over for Stan Heath , who was not retained at the end of a five-year contract that paid him more than $375,000 a year.
Donlon also will be eligible for performance bonuses for winning Mid-American Conference regular-season and tournament championships, and NCAA Tournament appearances, as well as reaching academic benchmarks, according to the terms of the term sheet. The exact amount for the bonuses is not in the term sheet. He also will get a car allowance, moving expenses and 12 tickets for each men's basketball home game.
The buyout for Donlon will start at $2 million in Year 1 ― the same structure if he is fired by the university without cause, or if Donlon leaves for another job ― and drops by $250,000 a year, to $250,000 the last year. Donlon has spent the last three seasons at Clemson, under longtime mentor Brad Brownell. He was head coach at Kansas City for three years, and before that head coach at Wright State for six years.