Alex Clemsen, who was announced April 23 as the new Maryland wrestling head coach, will make $30,000 more than Kerry McCoy, who stepped down at the end of the 2018-19 campaign.
According to Clemsen’s contract, which was obtained by The Diamondback through a public records request, the first-time head coach will earn a base salary of $170,000 before bonuses and incentives.
The former Missouri associate head coach helped guide the Tigers to an 84-7 record during his five years with the program. Clemsen’s time in Columbia coincided with the Terps’ switch to the Big Ten, one that hasn’t been easy to navigate in a blueblood wrestling conference. In those five seasons, the Terps went just 19-68 overall in duals and 1-44 in conference play.
[Read more: Missouri’s Alex Clemsen will be Maryland wrestling’s new head coach]
In order to lure the heralded assistant away from one of the best programs in the country, Maryland offered Clemsen a five-year deal worth about $71,000 more than he made as an associate head coach at Missouri in 2018, according to Missouri’s salary report.
Clemsen’s contract includes a bevy of performance-based incentives, similar to those in McCoy’s agreement. It also features the same perks as McCoy’s, with four tickets to each home football and men’s and women’s basketball games, a monthly automobile allowance of $500 and a cell phone stipend of $70 per month. For his relocation and moving assistance, Clemsen will receive $25,500.
[Read more: ‘Get in on it now’: Alex Clemsen wants to build excitement around Maryland wrestling]
If the Terps win the Big Ten team championship, Clemsen will earn $15,000 on top of his salary. If they place second, Clemsen will earn $10,000. There is also money to be had if Maryland finishes in the top 25 or the top 10 nationally, but a national championship would net the 35-year-old coach a $25,000 bonus.
These incentives are typical in college wrestling, and Clemsen’s base salary puts him in the ballpark of other Big Ten coaches.
After winning a second consecutive national championship in 2012, Penn State head coach Cael Sanderson inked a five-year deal worth $175,000, plus incentives. Sanderson has since signed an extension for an undisclosed amount and has gone on to win eight of the last nine national titles, likely driving up his salary.
At Rutgers, a program that featured two national champions in 2019, coach Scott Goodale is set to earn $195,000 in 2019-20, according to an NJ.com article. And coach Tom Brands at Iowa will earn a base salary of $200,000 in the final three years of his current contract, according to a Des Moines Register story.
Clemsen inherits a team losing stalwarts Alfred Bannister, Ryan Diehl and two-time All-American Youssif Hemida and will be charged with turning around a program that has struggled to find its footing since joining the Big Ten.
