Here are some of my ramblings on the subject, but with an eye on the bigger picture of DU sports....
Gwoz has a lot of friends both in the media and around DU, and he's trying to get a deal done and use what contract leverage he has. Gwoz signed a 10 year deal in 2002, which was extended after DU's NCAA titles in the middle of the decade, so I believe the extended contract expires in about 2014.
Gwoz obviously wants a deal that will keep him at or near the top of college hockey coaches, and would make him the highest-paid coach at DU. He'd probably like to close out his coaching career here and he's earned it by bringing the Pioneers into a perennial top 10 program. He's likely also chafed by the fact that DU's much-lower profile men's hoops coach currently makes more than he does, even though Gwoz' program is the only athletic program at the school that actually makes money. He's probably also chafed that other college hockey coaches have better deals now than he does, and his little visit to Columbus last summer was a warning shot accross DU's bow to get going on an extension. With his daugther graduating from high school, Gwoz also becomes more attractive to other programs (perhaps Penn State?).
On the other side, you have the DU administration. They probably look at Gwozdecky a little differently. He's doing a great job as coach and I'm sure they'd like to sign him to a deal that is appropriate for the next 5-10 years. DU's problem though, is that the next 5-10 years are probably going to be very different than right now. First, you have the whole WCHA/Big 10 mess coming down the pike soon. If DU is forced into a diluted WCHA with less attractive opponents, less TV, less gate and less tourney revenue and a loss of recruiting advantage, they probably can't justify paying Gwoz top dollar to coach in what will be second tier, mid-major conference. And with DU being bounced from the NCAA Hockey tourney in the first round against lower seeded teams for the last three seasons, DU's probably also has a little more contract leverage than they did in 2005.
If DU is going to be forced into a lesser conference, maybe they are thinking a less expensive, younger coach with a less expensive staff might be a better long term model for them, either as a reality or as a negotitating tactic to keep their coaching costs down and force Gwoz and his staff to take less money. This Big 10 thing is going to hurt DU badly, and I want to see them get proactive with Notre Dame, North Dakota, Miami, CC, etc to think about their own conference.
Additionally, the DU basketball program is now ascending, and DU is probably looking to generate more gate revenue from hoops to offset the heavier investment they've made into the program, If they can't get to 4,000 fan per home game game from the 2,000 they draw now, the revenue model doesn't grow. They need to get to an NCAA tourney in the next two seasons, or the basketball project will likely not succeed here.
They might pick up a few more dollars in men's lax if that program continues to climb, but that's a big roster sport with a limited about of home dates and a lot of eastern travel, so a revenue-positive positive status probably only happens if Tierney can get attendence into the 5,000-6,000 per game range, which is larger than Barton Stadium (2,000-3,000) can accommodate. They could play more game at Mile High, but 5,000 fans there feels tiny and doesn't really grow revenue much. I could see them adding some bleacher seating at Barton if the crowds grow, but all the 1:30 pm game starts are not going help grow attendance much, as that is the same time that youth lacrosse and their familes are all playing on weekends. DU is somewhat held hostage by the visiting teams, who won't play weekend here unless they can catch an evening flight home...
I also think the overall future of D-I college sports is cloudy. A lot of schools are dropping programs to keep costs down, and DU having to fly its many non-revenue teams all over the place isn't helping. DU will always have travel issues with only 6 D-I schools within 400 miles of Denver, but with costs going up and flat revenue, it's going to take more school money to keep their $25 million sports budget up to date.
I think DU also has to figure on some more capital improvement costs in the coming 5-8 years if they want facilities to remain in the upper echelon. Magness is no longer new. Basketball is going to probably want a practice facility of their own to keep pace. Barton Stadium may need to be expanded. Lighting and sound quality at Magness are both poor, and the corners they cut 10 years ago to finish the building are now entering the realm of embarrassing. All of those things are going to cost money...
All in all, the future is going to be interesting...
