The pregame puffed out chest boasts about the Ball State game being a blowout, and "betting Christmas" on Tech -5.5 (hope the kids and family are OK with coal in the stockings) were very entertaining to read this morning during my pre-holiday trip to visit friends and relatives up in the Great Lakes area.
I would argue a college fan is most rabid during their student days on campus... I was challenged to have to rabidly support the teams under "Bless you, brother" Dwayne Morrison so those days were much darker than recent, but Pastner is "achieving" that level now. We're stuck with him. His buyout is too much after Stansbury extended Pastner's contract. Plus, as mentioned here, no self-respecting coach would come here to build a resume with years under the heavy shroud of probation that Paster has woven for Tech. Pastner should have to be the guy who has to stew in the warm sewage he has created of the Tech program until just before that "Retention bonus" comes due towards the end of the 21-22 season. The rest of this putrid season plus two more years of abject suck before we can be rid of him, on Stansbury's watch. Stnansbury should have made a move when "for cause" was in play when the probation results were announced.
As for Pastner pining for the Arizona job, they wouldn't hire him to sell popcorn in the lobby. Memphis fans are still laughing at us taking him off their hands, and now look at their program compared to ours.
I'll just leave these here for reference...
quotes from Stansbury after he extended Pastner:
"In a statement released by the school, athletic director Todd Stansbury said Pastner has been 'a great fit' due to the culture he has established in the program."
New terms (currently he's at the beginning of year 4 iirc):
Pastner’s contract, which had a seventh year added to it after his first season, is now worth a total of $13.6 million if he completes it. That’s an annual average of $1.94 million through the 2022-23 season. In the extension, athletic director Todd Stansbury also added a $500,000 retention bonus that Pastner will receive if he is still coach at the end of the 2021-22 season. The contract amendment was obtained through an open-records request.
Pastner is earning $1.7 million this season. He would make $2.4 million in the 2022-23 season.
The contract also re-set the schedule for a buyout should he be terminated. In the original contract, he was to receive 100 percent of the value of the remaining contract were he to be fired in the first four years of the contract, then 75 percent of the remaining value if fired in the fifth year and 60 percent for the sixth and final year.
With the extension, Pastner will now receive the full value of the contract if he is dismissed through the fifth year of the contract, then 75 percent in Year 6 and 60 percent in Year 7.
The contract continues to include perks such as a monthly allowance to cover the cost of a family membership at a country club and a $1,300 monthly automobile allowance.