Greg Collins will have $200,000 base salary as Lady Toppers head coach

Greg Collins addresses the media during a press conference where he was announced as the new head coach of the WKU women’s basketball team on April 4 in Diddle Arena. The announcement of Collins as head coach came shortly after Michelle Clark-Heard announced she would be leaving WKU to coach the Cincinnati Bearcats women’s team.

Tyler Eaton

New WKU women’s basketball coach Greg Collins is set to receive a $200,000 salary, according to his new contract in the latest WKU Board of Regents agenda.

Collins’ contract is four years with a $200,000 annual salary, which was the same amount that former head coach Michelle Clark-Heard was making prior to her departure to Cincinnati. The contract, which was signed by Collins on April 12, includes other benefits and bonuses.

Benefits

Collins is set to receive four VIP football season tickets, six Red Towel women’s basketball season tickets, six reserved seat women’s basketball tickets, and four tickets to NCAA Tournament games that the team participates in, per his contract. Collins will also receive one automobile for use “on a loan basis” from the university.

Incentives

For each year, a team academic progress rate of +940 will net Collins an additional 5 percent of his base contract, which would currently be $10,000. An additional bonus of the same amount can be earned if the APR reaches +970.

Collins will also receive a 5 percent bonus for each increase of 500 tickets in women’s basketball public season ticket sales over the previous year. Another 5 percent bonus can be earned each year if at least 1,500 public season tickets are sold.

Collins also has a chance to receive as many as five bonuses of $16,667 each in performance incentives, which equals one month of his current salary. He’ll get that bonus for each of these accomplishments:

  • Conference Coach of the Year

  • Regular season conference championship OR NCAA Tournament appearance

  • NCAA Sweet 16 appearance

  • NCAA Final Four appearance

  • National Championship.

Collins’ max potential salary, with every bonus included, would be $303,335. 

Contract termination

Collins’ contract dictates that if he wants to pursue another coaching or sports-related job opportunity, he must notify and obtain permission from the director of athletics.

Collins’ buyout is $250,000. If WKU terminates the contract without cause, the university will be required to pay Collins his buyout, or “an amount equal to the coach’s base salary as of the date of termination, whichever amount is greater,” per his contract. Collins would have to pay the same amount to WKU if he terminated the contract early.

Collins was announced as the new head coach on March 27. His contract will have to be approved by the Board of Regents’ Executive Committee during its meeting on April 27.

Reporter Tyler Eaton can be reached at 270-776-6797 and [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter at @at_eaton