Warrior Coach Makes UH Contract Public

By Rodney S. Yap

University of Hawaii head football coach Norm Chow made it very clear when he was hired in December that job salary had “nothing to do with” his return to the 50th state.

The main motivation, he said, was “the chance to come home.”

So it’s no wonder Chow has decided to go public with his salary and performance incentives.

For the record, his base salary is $550,000 annually.

“Coach Chow appreciates the University maintaining his personal privacy and the general public’s understanding, but he does not want the curiosity of a few to detract from the reasons he chose to return home,” UH Athletics spokesman Derek Inouchi said in an email. “Coach Chow has therefore decided to disclose that the exact amount of his salary under his current employment agreement with the University of Hawaii.”

The school released Chow’s contract last week, his exact salary however, was unclear and disclosed via a salary range: $392,142 to $935,544.

The university was upfront about former head coach Greg McMackin’s compensation, releasing his contract and exact salary. For the last two years, it was public knowledge that McMackin was the state’s highest paid government employee with a base salary of $1.1 million.

UH handled McMackin’s predecessor June Jones in similar fashion, although Jones’ exact compensation was unclear as he was paid $400,008 by UH, with another $400,008 from private contributions.

Chow’s contract is for five years. The coach does have to pay for his own parking pass on-campus, although he is allowed to receive outside deals for media and apparel. He also receives eight free parking passes to home games and 30 tickets per game.

Chow, 65, was born and raised in Hawaii but has spent virtually all of his coaching career on the Mainland.

COACH NORM CHOW’S CONTRACT

BASE: $550,000.00

PERFORMANCE INCENTIVES: Coach shall be eligible for the following Performance Incentives for each
contract year.
• 1. Bonus of $75.000 (Seventy Five Thousand dollars) if season ticket sales
exceed 25,000
• 2. Bonus of $75,000 (Seventy-Five Thousand dollars) if season ticket sales
exceed 27,500
• 3. Bonus of $75,000 (Seventy-Five Thousand dollars) if season ticket sales
exceed 30,000 (#1, #2, #3 are cumulative)
• 4. Bonus of $25,000 (Twenty-Five Thousand dollars) for home game win on
national television
• 5. Bonus of $40,000 (Forty Thousand dollars) for away game win on national
television
• 6. Bonus of $50,000 (Fifty Thousand dollars) for winning conference
(championship game if applicable)
• 7. Bonus of $25,000 (Twenty—Five Thousand dollars] for finishing season in top
25 in either poll
• 8. Bonus of $50,000 (Fifty Thousand dollars) for finishing season in top 15 in
either poll
• 9. Bonus of $100,000 (One Hundred Thousand dollars) for finishing season in
top 10 in either poll (#7, #8, #9 are not cumulative)
• 10.Bonus of $25,000 (Twenty-Five Thousand dollars) for playing in a non-BCS
bowl