Overview of Jim Baron’s Contract as URI Basketball Coach

Editor’s note: Following the University of Rhode Island men’s basketball team’s loss to the Brown Bears on Wednesday night, I got several e-mails asking about the contract of head coach Jim Baron.

After a request to the university’s accounting office, and after they consulted with their general counsel, here is the information they released about Baron and his assistant.

HEAD COACH JIM BARON

• Baron is signed through March 31, 2014. When asked if his contract was guaranteed (i.e. URI has to pay if they fire him before March 2014), a university official said that information was private.
• Baron’s base salary is $348,984.
• As part of his contract, Baron is also guaranteed the gate receipts for one game. This is allotted at $229,181 by the university.
• A line item referring to “paid fringe benefits” is $92,295.
• In addition, Baron has several performance-based incentives in his contract: $15,000 per NCAA tournament game. $2,000 for NIT tournament game. $5,000 for an Atlantic 10 conference championship, whether in the regular season or via the A-10 tournament. $10,000 if he is named NCAA coach of the year, and $5,000 for A-10 coach of the year.
• Baron also has a motor vehicle allotment, which is valued at $5,000, a country club membership at $7,000 paid by boosters, and a $1,222 cell phone stipend.
• Adding it all up, Baron’s yearly salary ranges from $578,165 (base plus gate guarantee) to $670,460 (assuming he spend all of the fringe benefit allotment) to about $800,000 (assuming an NCAA championship).

ASSISTANT COACHES LARRY HARRIS, PATRICK CLARKE AND PRESTON MURPHY

• All three URI basketball assistant coaches have similar contracts, with one-year terms that are renewed at the end of each season.
• Harris’ base salary is $100,000, however, he has more experience than the other two. He joined the staff this year after a similar job at North Carolina State. Murphy’s base salary is $74,950, and Clarke’s is $72,389.
• The three have “paid fringe benefit” lines on their contracts that range from $33,434 to $38,938.
• All three have combined vehicle and cell phone allotments of $5,806.

URI hosts Maine at 2 p.m. Sunday.