Even setting aside the fact that UVA got a better seed than they deserved, this looks like a favorable matchup for us. We know that we can score against just about anybody; the concern is whether our pitching can hold up against tournament caliber lineups. They’re a weak hitting team that got dragged into the tournament by very good (but not elite) pitching.
I’m trying to sandbag an engineer who does process tech now……I need to pull out all the tricks to be able to pull off a good wager. Lol
Awesome article! Awesome coach!
Does Coach K stay after the season?
Answering that question is way above my pay grade.
Somebody find a stash of cash to keep her. Sign her to a long term deal with a huge buyout. She can stay 20 years if she wants to.
She is grossly underpaid. It’s embarrassing. $105K
Obviously the accomplishments this season and the past few are very impressive and I don’t want to discredit that. But what are the criteria makes an 105k salary embarrassing or underpaid? It’s almost 2x the median salary in Ohio so hardly difficult to live on and softball definitely isn’t a big money maker.
If I recall the most basic tenet from my Econ 101 class - probably taught by a professor who actually studied under Adam Smith - it is that the value of a commodity is what someone is willing to pay for it. With that in mind, a softball coach’s value is what she can get on the open market. I am guessing a number of universities are going to be willing to pay Kirin Kumar more than $105k. The critical question is whether Miami values her similarly.
Worth noting that she has a healthy bonus package on top of that, which, unlike other sports, actually comes into play. No chance we could be competitive if an SEC type program comes calling though.
All depends on where she wants to be. Will we price a new contract to her? I believe yes, we will or have. Will it be enough? All again depends on where she wants to be. I will say I’m fairly certain you could win a national championship in softball here. It would be hard, but I believe it could be done.
She came to Miami from Virginia Tech. For comparison, I found that VT’s head coach makes a $235,000 base, plus other compensation (car allowance, country club membership, and whatever bonuses he gets).
Economic principles break down when you have some ADs with tens of millions in TV revenue which they can’t pay to student athletes (for now).
I don’t think it’s embarrassing for Miami to pay a non-revenue coach $105k. I think Coach Kumar is almost certainly underpaid relative to what a salary at a P5 program could be. But I think that’s because a successful non-revenue sport is much more valuable to a P5 program than it is to Miami.
You can talk Econ 101 all you want. I still believe that relative to her results and the publicity the program is creating, she is underpaid.
Maybe, like Chuck Martin, she will really enjoy living in Oxford. That being said, hopefully, the AD will recognize what she has done and doesn’t want to lose momentum and will engage with the coach on what they can mutually agree upon to make her happy in her present position. Maybe time for softball alums to step up and pad the bank account.
Agree that a successful softball coach might be more important to a competitive P5 program but I don’t think the fact that some are richer and are willing to pay more breaks down economic principles at all. In fact, I think it re-enforces them. The amount of money someone is willing to pay sets the value.
Then the entire US economy is a “warped market”.
We don’t need to belabor the point but I’d actually read what was written and digest it. What you posted doesn’t have anything to do with anything. Cheers!