Demario Warren's new deal shows investment into football program

Demario Warren is still one of the best bargains in college football. But it’s not so obvious anymore.

Under Warren’s new contract, which was announced Monday, the Southern Utah head coach is due to make $185,000 annually over the next five years, according to documents obtained by The Spectrum & Daily News. That’s a $39,000 raise from Warren’s 2017 salary ($146,000) and a $50,000 raise from the first contract he signed in 2016 ($135,000).

The raise is significant in a couple of ways: It’s the richest contract SUU has ever given to a coach and it makes it so Warren is more on par with the rest of the coaches in the Big Sky. Before the new deal, Warren was set to make $146,000 in base salary for the 2018 season. That number would have been the lowest in the conference; a conference Warren’s T-Birds won in 2017.

"Coach Warren is a fantastic football coach, a positive role model, and a huge asset to this university," SUU athletic director Debbie Corum said in a statement.

And now he’s getting paid like it. Warren’s new salary is in line with a number of other Big Sky coaches.

According to media reports, Montana’s Bobby Hauck is making the same $185,000 base salary, as is Weber State’s Jay Hill. Eastern Washington’s Aaron Best is making $180,000 — the same amount as Montana State’s Jeff Choate before his recent contract extension.

ISU’s Rob Phenicle is set to make $165,000 this coming season and Northern Colorado’s Earnest Collins Jr. is under contract for $150,000. Idaho’s Paul Petrino will be the Big Sky’s highest-paid coach next season at $446,000.

The new contact also shows the continuing investment by SUU into the football program. With two conference titles in three seasons and record crowds regularly showing up, football has become the school’s marquee sport and the administration is clearly looking to keep that momentum up. With the new deal, SUU is planning on paying for more than just Warren.

As part of the contract, the SUU athletic department has agreed to “establish and annually fund an assistant football coaches’ salary pool in the total amount of $50,000.” The money will be used to give assistant coaches and support staff annual raises. A pool of $15,000 will also be established in order to give assistant coaches bonuses.

The university has also given itself a deadline for some long-awaited infrastructure upgrades. The school has agreed to have new office space for the football coaching staff by June 30, 2021. If the university fails to have the new offices by that date, Warren and the current assistant coaches who are still on staff will receive a one-time bonus of $5,000.

Warren’s performance bonuses remain the same under the new contract. He receives $2,500 for a playoff appearance, $2,500 for a playoff win, $25,000 for winning the FCS national title, $10,000 for a conference title ($5,000 for a co-conference crown), 3,500 for being Big Sky coach of the year ($1,750 for co-coach of the year) and $5,000 for each victory over an FBS team. Warren also receives bonuses for how well his football team does in the classroom.

More: Demario Warren named co-Big Sky coach of the year