Donations, steal beams and masonry are going up on the north side of Arkansas State's campus, where Athletic Director Terry Mohajir is leading a charge for the largest makeover the school's athletic facilities have seen in decades.
In part because of those improvements, salaries for Mohajir and most of ASU's assistant football coaches are going up, too.
Mohajir was given with a three-year contract extension and a raise last month, and ASU Chancellor Tim Hudson listed facilities projects and the growth of the school's budget as one of the reasons for the new commitments.
Mohajir's new contract, which was signed Jan. 30 and went into effect Feb. 1, expires Jan. 30, 2019. He will be paid $290,000 annually, an $80,000 raise from his previous deal that was signed when he received a one-year extension last year.
Mohajir will owe ASU $80,000 if he leaves before Jan. 31, 2016, and $40,000 if he leaves before Jan. 31, 2017.
"Terry has provided extraordinary leadership in growing the Red Wolves brand and prioritizing our student-athletes in all his decisions," Hudson said in a university release. "His work with the coaching staff, operations, fundraising and facilities planning has elevated Arkansas State and positioned us for even greater success in the years to come."
Mohajir told the Democrat-Gazette on Wednesday that seven of ASU's nine football assistants received raises after the Red Wolves finished 7-6 in Blake Anderson's first season as coach.
Mohajir said defensive coordinator Joe Cauthen received a $35,000 raise to $180,000 and defensive backs coach Trooper Taylor received a $15,000 raise to $120,000, while wide receivers coach Luke Paschall, defensive line coach Brian Early, defensive backs coach Allen Johnson, tight ends coach and recruiting coordinator Dan Dodd and running backs coach Anthony Tucker are all making $90,000 now.
Contracts for Anderson, offensive coordinator Walt Bell and offensive line coach Glen Elarbee did not change.
"I want to stay ahead of the game and I wanted our coaching pool to be one of the top, if not the top, in the Sun Belt," Mohajir said. "I wanted to maintain some continuity, plus put them at a level where it is more difficult for them to leave."
The raises put ASU's combined salary for assistants at $1,155,000, up from $911,000 from last year. According to a USA Today database of assistant coach salaries, ASU's new total ranks first among Sun Belt teams and 18th among the 64 programs not in Power Five conferences.
"It needs to be competitive," Mohajir said.
Mohajir arrived at ASU in September 2012 as the replacement for Dean Lee, who was reassigned to the school's administrative wing in August 2012. One of Mohajir's goals was to grow ASU's athletic budget to a school-record $20 million in five years. Mohajir helped ASU do that in less than two years while also securing donations to break ground on an indoor practice facility and a new press box at Centennial Bank Stadium.
"I was immediately humbled knowing this was a tribute to all the wonderful accomplishments by our student-athletes, coaches and administrative staff, and our strong initiatives are becoming a reality because of our loyal and passionate fan base," Mohajir said in a university release.
Since Mohajir's hiring, ASU has committed $60 million to athletic construction projects. It unveiled a new scoreboard and video board at Centennial Bank Stadium last year and an indoor practice facility will open March 23 north of the stadium, which will be available to all sports and students.
ASU broke ground in October on a new and expanded press box that will cost between $15 million and $16 million. The 39,000 square-foot project is expected to be open by ASU's Sept. 12 home-opening football game against Missouri.
That project was announced in August, the same day the school announced a $5 million donation from Johnny Allison, a Conway banker and ASU graduate. It marked the single largest gift to ASU's athletic department.
Sports on 02/13/2015