The Arizona Board of Regents has voted unanimously to give UA athletic director Dave Heeke a raise and one-year contract extension.
Heeke's new runs through March 31, 2023. He will make a base salary of $750,000, a $100,000 raise, with additional $10,000 increases in every year until 2023. Heeke would receive a $100,000 retention bonus if he is still employed at the UA through March 31, 2021; he can also receive bonuses based on academic and athletic performance by UA teams. He will continue to receive game tickets, a country club membership and two company cars.
“He has done a fantastic job as being an inspirational and very effective leader of our athletics program," UA president Robert C. Robbins said on Thursday. "I look forward to working with him for years to come.”
Heeke, 56, will owe the UA $200,000 if he leaves on his own before the end of his contract. He can be fired for cause if he shows "demonstrated fraud of dishonesty," neglects his duties or shows poor personal conduct. The UA would owe Heeke the balance of his base pay if he is fired without cause. Heeke's proposed contract contains the same "offset language" used in recent coaching hires, meaning any money Heeke would make after being fired by Arizona would come out of the money the UA owes to him.
The UA hired Heeke away from Central Michigan in April 2017, paying him a starting base salary of $500,000 per year. Before Central Michigan, Heeke spent 18 years in Oregon's athletic department.
"Thank you to President Robbins and the Arizona Board of Regents for their commitment and trust in the work we are doing to serve our student-athletes, coaches, staff and the Arizona family," Heeke said in a news release. "It is an honor to be a part of this incredible university and storied athletics program, and I am confident that we are poised for even greater success. I am proud of the coaches and staff in our department, who work hard each and every day to provide a world-class student-athlete experience. Together, we will continue to strive for excellence."
The regents also voted to open a club for UA faculty and staff inside the Sands Club, located in Arizona Stadium's north end zone. Club Corp, which will operate the new club, operates similar establishments at Texas, Texas Tech and Florida State.
