Chomp Change: Why Are Florida Haters Blasting Urban Meyer's Pay?

(Photo by Donald Miralle/Getty Images)

For those of you perched atop The Swamp screaming down about the perils of the economy, I hear you.

For those of you proclaiming the indignities of watching state budgets decrease while sports revenues (in some places) increase, I feel you.

And for those of you riding the ever-present point of reality that loudly states there are more appropriate ways to allocate funds than to shell out more money to a football coach, I’m with you.

But hear me out for a second before you all line up to take a big, forceful Gator Chomp to my jugular.

Urban Meyer’s six-year, $24 million contract extension that will raise his annual salary to $4 M per year is a lot of money to give a coach that works for a state-funded school that is fighting, like many others, to stay above water financially.

But it is a contract that Meyer deserves, for reasons that go far beyond the proverbial gut reaction of, “A football coach is making what?!?!?”

Meyer’s impact is more profound than his sparking 44-9 record at Florida. Yes, it goes deeper than the era that has won two National Championships in the last three seasons; turned Chris Leak into an exceptional college quarterback; morphed Tim Tebow into God’s swingman; and operates a well-oiled assembly line of NFL prospects.

This is not to minimize the impact that the recession has had on the university. UF has been patching holes and cutting costs like everybody else. The University of Florida is planning to make $30.6 million worth of specific cuts for the ’09-10 fiscal year. They hope to reach a budget reduction of $42.2 million next year.

Where are the budget cuts coming from? The university is sniffing through a variety of dark corners, including layoffs of nine faculty and 49 staff members. The Educational Psychology program is getting the ax.  The Internationally Educated Dentist Program is being transitioned to non-state funds.

The Documentary Film Institute in the College of Journalism and Communications is closing. UF is merging the Mental Health Center and Counseling Center within Student Affairs. And that’s only a sample.

There’s no denying the fact that the university needs help wherever it can find it. But that’s the point that is being missed. Urban Meyer is a big part of providing help to the university through his program, his identity, and his own pocket.

Where would the school be without Meyer’s powerful and influential mug being spread across the elite land of college football year after year? In even deeper trouble, that’s where.

The university doesn’t pay Meyer’s salary. The backbone of the athletic department, the University Athletic Association (UAA) does. Meyer could turn his shoulder to the troubles of the university since they don’t feed him, but he’s not doing that. He does the opposite.

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