Published Wednesday | April 18, 2007
Chancellor Perlman gives Pederson pat on the back
BY LEE BARFKNECHT
WORLD-HERALD BUREAU
LINCOLN - Nebraska Athletic Director Steve Pederson is drawing high praise from his boss for the department's operations and its financial picture.
NU Chancellor Harvey Perlman is pleased with the job Steve Pederson is doing and expects to extend the A.D.'s contract."I think he's doing a great job," Chancellor Harvey Perlman of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln said.
That includes raising money and managing the debt on the $50 million North Stadium football project, despite ongoing chatter to the contrary.
Said Perlman: "I heard a rumor from a fifth-hand source through a hairdresser that I was going to be fired because we didn't raise the money for the North Stadium - which I find amusing.
"There is no issue with respect to that. It is not an issue that is a burden to us in any way or that we are worried about."
What is the overall financial view for NU athletics?
"Our program," Perlman said, "is as financially sound as any in the country."
The glowing reports haven't resulted in a contract extension yet for Pederson.
He is within 14 months of his original 51/2-year contract expiring (June 30, 2008). Industry reports indicate that the average job span of a Division I-A athletic director is about 41/2 to 5 years.
For A.D.s who stay longer, it is common for one at the point in which Pederson is in his deal to receive an extension. His pay this fiscal year is $414,322.
"I'm perfectly prepared to say," Perlman said, "that I don't see anything now that would lead me to any other conclusion than I would enthusiastically extend his contract when the time comes."
Perlman wouldn't say when that time is.
"We haven't talked much about it," he said. "We'll address it in a timely way."
Last Friday's head-to-head golf tournaments among former Nebraska athletes apparently won't factor in.
"I didn't give it a lot of thought," Perlman said.
The athletic department sponsored the third annual Lettermen's Club golf tournament. At the same time on a different course in Lincoln, a group of former NU football players organized a tournament that attracted former head coach Tom Osborne and produced some criticism of Pederson.
"I don't know what message was intended," Perlman said, "and I don't know what message was received by people.
"If it was designed to be divisive of support for Husker athletics, then I'm sorry it occurred that way. If it was a group of guys who wanted to get together and have a golf tournament, then more power to them."
Perlman said an overview of Nebraska's athletic department performance leaves him with little to fault.
"You can look at the movement of our football program," he said. "You can look at the excitement generated around our basketball program - it's a little early, but I think people have a lot of confidence.
"You can look across the range of sports that are successful here. And if you attended the academic-athletic banquet Sunday night, you couldn't help but be impressed by the commitment of the athletic department to the academic side."
As for the football stadium debt, no specific figures have been provided concerning how much of the project's $50 million price tag has been raised or on how soon the bonds might be retired.
In April 2004, the NU Board of Regents approved $53 million in bonds for the project, which included $8 million in bonding costs and a reserve fund.
Pederson reported to the regents that about $5 million in cash contributions from boosters at that time would lower the bond requirement to $45 million ($35 million to mature in 20 years and $10 million in five years).
According to a World-Herald story from that meeting, Pederson assured regents that the entire cost of the North Stadium project could be paid for from $15 million in pledged or in-hand donations, plus ticket revenue from the additional seats.
Perlman said he didn't have specifics on how fund-raising is going.
"But we raised a significant amount of money for it," he said. "And the additional revenue from the facility covers the cost of the facility."
If enough money is raised to retire bonds before maturity, Perlman said, there would be "more money to do other things in the athletic department."
One financial matter that does worry Perlman and Pederson is the salary escalation among football and basketball coaches. Alabama is paying football coach Nick Saban $4 million annually. Texas basketball coach Rick Barnes just got a raise to $2 million a year.
"People aren't making $2 million in basketball," Perlman said. "Anti-trust laws prevent us from controlling salaries, so we'll have to see how the market plays out."
