The Numbers don't add up

Under head coach Pat Casey's guidance the OSU baseball team put up some impressive numbers during their recently completed 2005 campaign. The Beavers reeled off a 46 win season, their best ever, and reached a No. 2 ranking in the Baseball America and Collegiate Baseball Magazine polls, another benchmark.

Moreover, the club's conference win total equaled the most by any team since the conference merged its Northern and Southern divisions. Goss Stadium hosted its first postseason action since 1963 as the Beavers tore through their regional and super regional games en route to their first berth to the College World Series since 1952.

The product of the Beavers' big-time numbers in 2005 equated to a Pac-10 Conference Championship and Coach of the Year honors for Pat Casey. Not bad for a team picked to finish sixth by the Pac-10 pre-season coaches' poll.

One number that does not add up in the 2005 Beaver baseball equation is head coach Pat Casey's salary.

In contrast to the Beavers' sterling first place finish, Casey's $67,908 salary is dead last among Pac-10 coaches. Furthermore, he works on a year-to-year contract with no incentive package, which means the Beavers' record-breaking achievements this season earned him no extra money.

After Casey, the next lowest paid coach in the Pac-10 is Washington State's Tim Mooney, whose Cougars went 1-23 in conference play and were swept by the Beavers at Coleman Field. Mooney earns slightly more than $70,000 per year.

In comparison to other successful Pac-10 programs, it is immediately apparent that Pat Casey is underpaid. Arizona State's Pat Murphy, for example, pulls down $195,000 per year in addition to a lucrative incentive package. Mark Marquess, skipper of the Stanford Cardinal, rakes in $250,000 per year plus incentives. Casey's Beavers won season series against both these teams.

Doesn't the College Baseball Foundation national co-coach of the year deserve better than $67,908 per year? The answer in this corner is a resounding yes, and I am sure Beaver Nation agrees.

Bob DeCarolis needs to ink Casey to a multi-year contract worth at least double his existing agreement. Casey's new deal should include an incentive package that rewards him for conference championships, post-season appearances and all-conference performers.

It is also time for the OSU athletic department to explore the possibility of a stadium expansion or future facilities upgrade. The overflowing crowds during post-season games made it clear that Goss Stadium cannot accommodate a championship caliber baseball team much longer. Without these changes, Casey could choose to depart for greener pastures; Texas A&M has already shown an interest in Casey's services.

While it may seem OSU's athletic department is strapped for cash with the Raising Reser campaign, consider the recent signing of Lavonda Wagner as women's basketball coach. Wagner, who brought an impressive resume as an assistant at Duke, was awarded a $140,000 base salary. Along with her media responsibilities, she stands to earn an estimated $200,000 per year, a handsome paycheck for someone with no prior head coaching experience. In fact, Wagner earns $55,000 per year more than Casey and his top two assistants combined.

Volleyball coach Terry Liskevych, hired just a few months ago, earns more than double Casey's salary at $135,000 per year.

As if Casey's accomplishments as a coach this season were not enough to warrant a pay increase, his recruitment of the state's top high school talent should make it a closed case. Casey lured All-American Dallas Buck away from this year's eventual national champion Texas and convinced Beaverton native and Pac-10 Freshman of the Year Darwin Barney to suit up in the black and orange. He also persuaded Mike Stutes, a transfer from Santa Clara and the 2004 4A Oregon High School Baseball Player of the Year, to join the Beavers over the likes of Louisiana State and Stanford.

If Oregon State is truly committed to maintaining a championship program, the athletic department will do the math and give Casey the contract he deserves.