By Robbie Neiswanger
Arkansas News Bureau • rneiswanger@arkansasnews.com
FAYETTEVILLE — Arkansas offensive coordinator Garrick McGee appeared close to landing his first head coaching job when he interviewed at Tulsa earlier this month.
McGee didn’t get the position, withdrawing from consideration the same day the Golden Hurricane named Bill Blankenship the new coach. But he is set to be rewarded for remaining on Arkansas coach Bobby Petrino’s staff for 2011.
McGee, pending approval from the school’s Board of Trustees, will become Arkansas’ highest paid assistant.
The school is recommending a salary increase that will bump his yearly pay to $425,000. Most of McGee’s salary will covered by the university ($375,000), while the Razorback Foundation is scheduled to handle the rest ($50,000).
The raise must be approved by the Board of Trustees when it meets in Little Rock on Friday. If approved, McGee will slide past defensive coordinator Willy Robinson to become Arkansas’’ highest paid assistant coach.
Robinson earned $350,000 last year, but the Razorbacks are requesting his annual salary be raised to $375,000. Raises totaling roughly $240,000 have been recommended for McGee, Robinson and the rest of Arkansas on-the-field assistants.
McGee, however, will be the biggest beneficiary of the pay raises. He is set for a total pay increase of $125,000 if approved after earning $300,000 last season.
Football Center Update
Arkansas announced Tuesday the Walker Charitable Foundation has made a $2.5 million grant to help fund the program’s football operations center.
“We are proud to partner with Razorback Athletics to help construct a new football center that will enhance the overall experience for thousands of student-athletes at the University of Arkansas,” Walker Charitable Foundation Executive Director Debbie Walker said in a statement.
With the 2.5 million grant, Arkansas said more than $15.2 million in private donations has been pledged for the construction of center. Completion of the project — which Arkansas is hoping to begin construction on in the next few months — is expected to cost up to $35 million.
Pay Increases
Here’s a look at Arkansas’ assistants salaries for 2010 and what the program is recommending for 2011:
Assistant Current Salary/Recommended
OC/QB Garrick McGee $300,000/$425,000*
DC/DB Willy Robinson $350,000/$375,000
OL Chris Klenakis $225,000/$243,000
OLB/ST John L. Smith $210,000/$235,000
DE Steve Caldwell $210,000/$235,000
DT Bobby Allen $190,000/$212,800
RB Tim Horton $185,000/$195,000
WR Kris Cinkovich $185,000/$199,800
ILB Reggie Johnson $170,000/$183,600
Salary Totals $2,025,000/$2,265,200˛ˇ
* Includes $50,000 from the Razorback Foundation, which does not have to be approved by the Board of Trustees.
