Warriors hoops coach could make $500K

That's almost double the $275,000 that Riley Wallace received in the final year of his current contract

HILO » University of Hawaii regents yesterday set an effective cap on base pay for a successor to head basketball coach Riley Wallace at $500,000.

That's almost double the $275,000 that Wallace, who is stepping down after 20 years as head coach, received in the final year of his current contract that expires on April 30.

UH athletic director Herman Frazier pointed out that the new figure is an upper limit.

"We will not pay the money unless we believe the coach is worth the compensation," he said. "We're going to need to move quickly in the marketplace when the time comes."

Without the advanced authorization, Frazier would have to go to the regents for approval, a time-consuming process that would probably result in another university grabbing the desired candidate in the meantime, he said.

The $500,000 figure is the result of a formula. Frazier initially proposed a salary range of $184,836 to $503,304. That was endorsed by UH president David McClain. But an existing authorization allows the athletic department to pay 25 percent on top of that. The real top would then have been $639,130.

The regents finally voted to set the range at $185,000 to $400,000, but to continue authorization for the 25 percent addition, putting the real top back at $500,000. Regents Dahilig and Marlene Hapai voted against the nominal $400,000 top. Dahilig said any amount over $300,000 should require approval by the regents.

McClain said there are five sports at UH, including basketball, that generate a surplus that supports 14 other sports.

Besides increasing the salary range of the head coach, the regents also boosted salary ranges for associate and assistant coaches.

For associates, regents approved a range of $79,500 to $124,656, up from $50,004 to $78,000.

For assistants, the range goes to $50,004 to $105,000, up from $39,000 to $58,008.