Maine Offseason 2020: We Stay Home But Swayman Leaves

[Runsub5]

Yes there are interested people to Coach @ MAINE, but the problem is what Maine will and wants to pay....they want to pay 200-225k per year while anyone coming to Maine has 275-300k as a starting pay per year...so what I am saying is Gendron will be back for at least one more season. UNTIL Ralph figures it out, that he has to pay then you and I will be stuck with Gendron. As they say you get what you paid for. And with that said Gendron isn't going any where's as he has no where's to go and no one wants him either. Maine faithful and Program are stuck until money is found to bring the right Coach in.....sad to say the least.

As Sean's table points out, the total package for Gendron is worth $331,216.00 for 2018. It's probably more than that for 2021 and includes the use of a personal car, expenses, golf club membership and other personal benefits. While this is much less than what private schools pay their head coaches in Hockey East, I wonder how it compares to what public schools pay? Sean may have this information available, but I can't seem to find it.

 

[Sean Pickett]

Thanks to you I've started my bi-annual update to my NCAA Financials spreadsheet. I've already have the reports from 11 schools and I've update my sheet for 5 schools so far. One of the schools was Maine, so I've also updated my NCAA Maine Financials spreadsheet as well. Looking at Maine's numbers from 2010-20 these are a few things I noticed:

Maine's earned revenue has remained flat while expanses have grown by 37% ($6 million) so the school's athletic deficit has likewise grown
Maine is opposed to firing coaches with time on their contracts as they have reported severance on only four reports and only 2 were reported against a specific team (softball 2012, men's hockey 2013)
Men's hockey spending on memberships and dues exploded in 2019 & 2020, going from just a few hundred dollars to over $60 thousand dollars
Men's hockey recruiting expenses have been cut in half from 2016
Men's hockey contributions are up, but the increase only covers about half of the ticket revenue decline since 2015
The football team's 2018 NCAA playoffs appearance netted $104,250 (I recall this was a talking point at the time)
Coach Gendron has the highest total compensation of any coach at Maine and has been so since starting. His total compensation started $50 thousand higher than Coach Whitehead and as of 2020 it was just under $344 thousand
Coach Vachon was underpaid as the women's basketball interim head coach and was still making less in 2020 than her predecessor made in 2016
Every sport at Maine loses money, with football the leader at almost $3.2 million in 2020

Sean

 

[Runsub5]

Thanks to you I've started my bi-annual update to my NCAA Financials spreadsheet. I've already have the reports from 11 schools and I've update my sheet for 5 schools so far. One of the schools was Maine, so I've also updated my NCAA Maine Financials spreadsheet as well. Looking at Maine's numbers from 2010-20 these are a few things I noticed:

Maine's earned revenue has remained flat while expanses have grown by 37% ($6 million) so the school's athletic deficit has likewise grown
Maine is opposed to firing coaches with time on their contracts as they have reported severance on only four reports and only 2 were reported against a specific team (softball 2012, men's hockey 2013)
Men's hockey spending on memberships and dues exploded in 2019 & 2020, going from just a few hundred dollars to over $60 thousand dollars
Men's hockey recruiting expenses have been cut in half from 2016
Men's hockey contributions are up, but the increase only covers about half of the ticket revenue decline since 2015
The football team's 2018 NCAA playoffs appearance netted $104,250 (I recall this was a talking point at the time)
Coach Gendron has the highest total compensation of any coach at Maine and has been so since starting. His total compensation started $50 thousand higher than Coach Whitehead and as of 2020 it was just under $344 thousand
Coach Vachon was underpaid as the women's basketball interim head coach and was still making less in 2020 than her predecessor made in 2016
Every sport at Maine loses money, with football the leader at almost $3.2 million in 2020

Sean

Thanks Sean. Great work! I am curious about hockey membership and dues going up $60K. What is this exactly?

 

[Sean Pickett]

Thanks Sean. Great work! I am curious about hockey membership and dues going up $60K. What is this exactly?

The NCAA is a bit vague, but the category description states it is for "Memberships, conference and association dues."

Sean

 

[NorthMike]

As Sean's table points out, the total package for Gendron is worth $331,216.00 for 2018. It's probably more than that for 2021 and includes the use of a personal car, expenses, golf club membership and other personal benefits. While this is much less than what private schools pay their head coaches in Hockey East, I wonder how it compares to what public schools pay? Sean may have this information available, but I can't seem to find it.

Saw that $300+ number and wondered what that includes. Benefits? Retirement? Etc??

 

[umhockey91]

Saw that $300+ number and wondered what that includes. Benefits? Retirement? Etc??

Probably includes an acting coach for Gendron.....how to act like a folksy yokel while savvily bilking taxpayers as an overly compensated college hockey coach.

 

[Sean Pickett]

Saw that $300+ number and wondered what that includes. Benefits? Retirement? Etc??

The NCAA states to "Input compensation, bonuses and benefits paid to all coaches paid to all coaches reportable on the university or related entities W-2 and 1099 forms, as well as non-taxable benefits, inclusive of:
Gross wages and bonuses
Benefits including allowances, speaking fees, retirement, stipends, memberships, media income, tuition reimbursement/exemptions and earned deferred compensation, including those funded by the state."

There is another category for "Compensation, bonuses and benefits paid to all coaches by a third party and contractually guaranteed by the institution, but not included on the instituitions W-2, as well as any non-taxable benefits, including:
Car stipend
Country club membership
Allowances for clothing, housing, entertainment
Speaking fess
Camps compensation
Media income
Shoe and apparel income"

I have combined both categories together for the few schools/years when a coach received third party compensation. In 2015, '16 and '17 third parties paid Coach Gendron $4,500, $5,000 and $6,000 respectively.

Sean

 

[BoSox3066]

Coach Vachon was underpaid as the women's basketball interim head coach and was still making less in 2020 than her predecessor made in 2016

they better have fixed this in her recent contract extension, this is a PR disaster in the making seeing as her predecessor was a man. 5 years of inflation and her success, being below 16 Baron is embarrassing

 

[Sean Pickett]

they better have fixed this in her recent contract extension, this is a PR disaster in the making seeing as her predecessor was a man. 5 years of inflation and her success, being below 16 Baron is embarrassing

To be accurate I should have said her total compensation, since it's possible her salary might be higher.

Sean

 

[Fishman'81]

The NCAA states to "Input compensation, bonuses and benefits paid to all coaches paid to all coaches reportable on the university or related entities W-2 and 1099 forms, as well as non-taxable benefits, inclusive of:
Gross wages and bonuses
Benefits including allowances, speaking fees, retirement, stipends, memberships, media income, tuition reimbursement/exemptions and earned deferred compensation, including those funded by the state."

There is another category for "Compensation, bonuses and benefits paid to all coaches by a third party and contractually guaranteed by the institution, but not included on the instituitions W-2, as well as any non-taxable benefits, including:
Car stipend
Country club membership
Allowances for clothing, housing, entertainment
Speaking fess
Camps compensation
Media income
Shoe and apparel income"

I have combined both categories together for the few schools/years when a coach received third party compensation. In 2015, '16 and '17 third parties paid Coach Gendron $4,500, $5,000 and $6,000 respectively.

Sean

Good stuff, Sean, but this is (mostly) three-card-monte.

So much for "transparency".

We still don't see the actual bottom-line, and that's exactly what the schools seem to want.

 

[Fishman'81]

Three D-II schools who don’t light millions of dollars on fire playing FCS football and instead pour the vast majority of their resources into their only D-I programs.

That could be us. But instead of choosing one thing to be excellent at, the University of Maine tries to be all things to all people and gets mediocre results.

I hear you, but remember the last few times Maine was on an ESPN of some sort and contending for a NC..?

That sure as s*** wasn't about hockey... Football, field hockey, womens' hoops, yes... But hockey has been dead in the water since Red's 1st disaster, and so on.

I hope you live long enough to see a resurgence, but I don't expect to. He's a proven failure, and he's clearly not getting any smarter. Hockey has been throwing money down Red's rat-hole for 8 years now, and no matter if he goes away tomorrow or not, this program is screwed for at least 4-5 years, and likely longer.

The idiotic extensions of Red during the past several years have buried this program deeper than Jimmy Hoffa.

 

[Drew S.]

I hear you, but remember the last few times Maine was on an ESPN of some sort and contending for a NC..?

That sure as s*** wasn't about hockey... Football, field hockey, womens' hoops, yes... But hockey has been dead in the water since Red's 1st disaster, and so on.

I hope you live long enough to see a resurgence, but I don't expect to. He's a proven failure, and he's clearly not getting any smarter. Hockey has been throwing money down Red's rat-hole for 8 years now, and no matter if he goes away tomorrow or not, this program is screwed for at least 4-5 years, and likely longer.

The idiotic extensions of Red during the past several years have buried this program deeper than Jimmy Hoffa.

Not to beat a dead horse any more than it already has been but Maine was an NCAA team a year ago. I don’t think they’re in as bad of shape as you think. They have two decent goalies and some good younger players along with some promising players lined up for the future. The dman coming in will probably be Maine’s highest draft pick since Jimmy, and that was close to 20 years ago.

The challenge will be upgrading a few of the forwards and having a little more depth up front. It’s a shame we can’t see how scholarships are distributed as you really have to wonder how you get to 18 a lot of years. Where Maine is so cheap for NE kids they should be able to attract more players like Quinlivan but obviously haven’t.

 

[walrus]

Another week with no word of whats going on. As I see it 2 possible scenarios, Red stays, whatever. Or there is an asst coach playing in the Frozen Four that they want, unlikely but one can hope.

 

[Wayuphere]

Not to beat a dead horse any more than it already has been but Maine was an NCAA team a year ago. I don’t think they’re in as bad of shape as you think. They have two decent goalies and some good younger players along with some promising players lined up for the future. The dman coming in will probably be Maine’s highest draft pick since Jimmy, and that was close to 20 years ago.

The challenge will be upgrading a few of the forwards and having a little more depth up front. It’s a shame we can’t see how scholarships are distributed as you really have to wonder how you get to 18 a lot of years. Where Maine is so cheap for NE kids they should be able to attract more players like Quinlivan but obviously haven’t.

But the coaching will ruin whatever quality arrives...same old song.

 

[Drew S.]

But the coaching will ruin whatever quality arrives...same old song.

Who do you have in mind? I actually think the opposite is true.

 

[Runsub5]

Another week with no word of whats going on. As I see it 2 possible scenarios, Red stays, whatever. Or there is an asst coach playing in the Frozen Four that they want, unlikely but one can hope.

I would like to be more optimistic, but your first scenario is correct. Ralph probably told Gendron back in January that he had another year to coach. I'm guessing he told him that with all of the Covid-19 issues he deserved another year to show improvement. I hope I'm wrong. On another note, if Maine hockey wanted to be solvent again financially hire Montgomery (if he wants the job). Alfond Arena would be a sellout every game. Will probably never happen.

 

[NorthMike]

I would like to be more optimistic, but your first scenario is correct. Ralph probably told Gendron back in January that he had another year to coach. I'm guessing he told him that with all of the Covid-19 issues he deserved another year to show improvement. I hope I'm wrong. On another note, if Maine hockey wanted to be solvent again financially hire Montgomery (if he wants the job). Alfond Arena would be a sellout every game. Will probably never happen.

If red is coming back for another year why not just announce it. I see the only thing going on is that they are pursuing someone. Its got to be, hope so anyway.

 

[amkirby10]

Swayman will be on the bench at the Garden tonight backing up Dan Vladar.

 

[umhockey91]

Another week with no word of whats going on. As I see it 2 possible scenarios, Red stays, whatever. Or there is an asst coach playing in the Frozen Four that they want, unlikely but one can hope.

Ben Barr - UMass.

 

[walrus]

On another note, if Maine hockey wanted to be solvent again financially hire Montgomery (if he wants the job). Alfond Arena would be a sellout every game. Will probably never happen.

Without a doubt, be the hottest ticket in town once again