The University of Denver has begun contract negotiations with hockey coach George Gwozdecky, who oversees the school’s flagship sport but is no longer its highest-paid coach.
Gwozdecky is under contract through 2014 with a base salary “between $200,000 and $250,000,” according to his agent, Leigh Augustine, who met Tuesday with school officials. Gwozdecky signed the contract in 2002, five years before DU hired men’s basketball coach Joe Scott for more than $300,000 annually.
“Things are definitely moving forward with the contract extension, and everyone is optimistic that this will be resolved in the very near future,” Augustine said Thursday.
DU does not disclose salaries. Augustine’s estimate of Gwozdecky’s current salary puts him anywhere from first to fourth among Western Collegiate Hockey Association coaches, according to a study by the Duluth News-Tribune. The study did not include Colorado College’s Scott Owens.
DU athletic director Peg Bradley-Doppes declined comment on the salary negotiations.
Last summer, after two years of his five-year contract, Scott signed an extension through 2014-15. His new salary was not disclosed, but a public IRS form from DU for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2008, put Scott’s total compensation at $317,250 after his first year.Gwozdecky is 364-223-50 in 16-plus seasons at Denver, and the Pioneers (18-6-4) are ranked second nationally. Gwozdecky, 56, has had just two losing seasons, and he’s closing in on his ninth consecutive 20-win campaign.
He led DU to national championships in 2004 and 2005 and Western Collegiate Hockey Association regular-season or playoff crowns five times, including both in 2002. His last two teams have garnered No. 1 NCAA Tournament regional seeds.
