TUCSON — Northern Colorado athletic director Jay Hinrichs said Thursday that he will work on a new contract for first-year coach B.J. Hill after he took the Bears to their first NCAA Tournament.
Hill signed a three-year deal for $85,000 when he took over last year after Tad Boyle left for Colorado. After the Bears’ 68-50 loss to seventh-ranked San Diego State in the second round, Hinrichs said Hill and his assistants deserve raises.
“I will definitely have discussions with our president to see how she feels about the current status of Northern Colorado basketball,” Hinrichs said.
Hill, 36, should reach about $25,000 in incentives. Hinrichs said Hill has already earned $5,000 bonuses each for winning the Big Sky Conference, meeting a home attendance goal, winning Big Sky coach of the year and fulfilling a public appearances requirement.
Hinrichs said he expects Hill will meet an academic goal when the semester ends in May. All four of his seniors will graduate on time.
Hill arrived five years ago with Boyle and the Bears went 4-24 with the lowest RPI in the country in their first official season in Division I. Four years later, they went 21-11, won their first conference title and made their first NCAA Tournament.
“There could be nothing more enriching than to acknowledge what he’s done,” Hinrichs said. “And, more important, in turn start to compensate the head coach and assistant coaches for what they do.”
The question is how UNC will find the funds. Until last season, attendance rarely reached a thousand. While they had a record five sellouts, Butler-Hancock Sports Pavilion only seats 2,734.
Hinrichs hopes the success and two games on national TV will help fundraising.
“We’re just not there yet,” Hinrichs said. “I hope that with the support that the Bears basketball has done in the community, we can raise more money and reward some of these people for their efforts.”
Asked if bigger schools have contacted him about talking to Hill, Hinrichs said: “Nothing official. No phone calls.”
John Henderson: 303-954-1299 or jhenderson@denverpost.com
