The Arizona Board of Regents will meet Thursday to discuss Arizona’s basketball program and the contract of Sean Miller, indicating a resolution could be near for the embattled basketball coach.
Speaking following his round at the Cologuard Classic pro-am on Wednesday, UA president Robert C. Robbins said the university was “still working on things” but offered few details. Athletic director Dave Heeke was supposed to join Robbins to golf on Wednesday but canceled. Robbins is ultimately in charge of Arizona’s hiring and firing decisions. He reports to the regents, who can approve or deny contract terms and policies.
“It’s a lot of moving parts,” Robbins said. “We’ll have more to say later.”
When asked about the future of UA basketball, Robbins did not mention Miller by name but spoke about the players.
“This basketball program has been a great program for a long time. We intend for it to be,” he said. “We want our student-athletes to get a great education and plan for their futures. What I want is to help them realize their hopes and dreams for their future.”
Miller has not coached the Wildcats since ESPN reported last Friday night that he discussed paying Deandre Ayton $100,000 with a sports agent.
ESPN has since had to correct the timeline it originally presented in the report, and on Thursday conspicuously removed Ayton’s name from its television news “crawl.”
Ayton’s family says the Wildcats’ freshman star spoke to the FBI and was cleared, and the UA’s outside counsel called Ayton’s implication by ESPN to be “false and unfounded.” The UA has said Ayton is eligible to play.
Associate head coach Lorenzo Romar coached Ayton and the Wildcats in a loss at Oregon on Saturday and in three practices this week, and is expected to lead 19th-ranked Arizona on Thursday when it hosts Stanford.
Miller’s fate could be decided by then — at least in the short term. Miller, 49, is 242-72 over eight-plus years with the Wildcats, while winning or tying for four Pac-10/12 titles and reaching the NCAA Tournament’s Elite Eight three times. He has been named the conference’s coach of the year three times, including last season when the Wildcats went 16-2 in conference play and 32-5 overall.
But Arizona’s program was rocked on Sept. 26, when assistant coach Book Richardson was arrested on federal bribery and fraud charges as a result of the FBI’s sweeping investigation into college basketball.
UA officials supported Miller in the days after Richardson’s arrest.
Miller issued a statement in October saying he supported Arizona’s efforts to fully investigate the allegations and that he recognized that his responsibilities included reinforcing a culture of compliance.
“To the best of my ability, I have worked to demonstrate this over the past eight years and will continue to do so as we move forward,” Miller said.
The federal complaint detailed how Richardson and then-UA associate head coach Joe Pasternack had conversations about recruits with an agent, Christian Dawkins. While there were no indications in the complaint that Pasternack broke any NCAA rules, Richardson was alleged to have been given a total of $20,000 to pass on to a UA recruit believed to be Jahvon Quinerly.
On Aug. 7, less than three weeks after Richardson allegedly took a $15,000 payment while saying “it’s gonna help with the kids,” Quinerly announced on ESPNU that he would play for UA. He decommitted from the Wildcats on Oct. 19, three weeks after Richardson’s arrest, and announced on Feb. 14 that he would attend Villanova. Quinerly has denied taking any money.
The federal complaint also quoted an Adidas representative as saying Arizona had offered $150,000 for a five-star recruit, reportedly Orlando forward Nassir Little, to commit.
A third UA assistant, Mark Phelps, was suspended for two games in November for breaking an unspecified NCAA rule; forward Keanu Pinder was benched for one game for breaking a separate NCAA rule.
Arizona has made Miller one of college basketball’s most well-paid coaches and the highest-paid state employee. Miller is earning a guaranteed $2.6 million this season plus performance and academic bonuses. This season, Arizona is paying Miller a base salary of $1.5 million plus $700,000 for “peripheral duties” such as his radio show, while Nike and IMG also pay him about $200,000 each.
Miller also earned a $2.1 longevity bonus from Arizona in 2016 and, if he remains until 2022, will receive 175,000 shares of Western Refining Logistics stock that are currently worth $4.17 million. Miller would not receive the stock if fired for cause. If he is fired without cause this year, he would receive three-eighths of the shares.
Miller’s contract runs through the 2021-22 season with $100,000 escalators each season, meaning he is on the books for another $7 million in base salary plus another $2.8 million in peripheral duties pay for a total of $9.8 million for the four seasons after 2017-18.
If Miller is fired without cause, he would be entitled to half of the $9.8 million. But if Miller is fired with cause -- for reasons such as breaking NCAA rules, demonstrated dishonesty or criminal acts -- an interpretation of his contract may be necessary.
Miller's contract says UA would be only obligated to pay his base salary (including peripheral duties compensation) if fired for cause, but does not specify whether that means base salary through the end of the contract or not.
UA spokesman Chris Sigurdson said if Miller were dismissed for cause, he would not receive any base compensation for work beyond the date of his termination.
“We recognize there may be some ambiguity in the language of the contract,” Sigurdson said via email, “but Arizona courts look to the intent of the parties, and the intent of the parties in this case is clear. Base salary and any additional compensation are payable only to the date of termination.”
