Coach Pam Borton and her assistants will be rewarded for leading Minnesota’s women’s basketball team to the Final Four, Athletics Director Joel Maturi said.
Maturi said he plans to talk with Borton about improving her contract when the team returns from the Final Four in New Orleans.
“I want to make sure Pam knows that we want her to stay here, and she and I will talk,” Maturi said. “It’s an obvious thing to do.”
Borton’s current contract pays her a $150,000 base salary. She made more than $250,000 this year, including supplemental pay for media appearances, an annual bonus and a 10 percent share of season-ticket revenue.
Borton’s salary ranks eighth or ninth in the Big Ten, Maturi said, but the athletics department’s tight budget limits what he can offer financially.
“I’d like to pay her more,” Maturi said, “but how much remains to be seen in what we have in dollars available to us.”
Maturi is also considering a contract extension for Borton, who has four years left on her current deal.
“I don’t know if she wants to be a grandma on the job or not, but we’ll address it,” Maturi said. “It’s the right thing to do. What she has done, what she has accomplished is amazing.”
In her two seasons with the Gophers, Borton has gone 50-14. She led the team to the Sweet 16 last year and the Final Four this year.
The program was struggling when Borton took over, Maturi said. The team had been sanctioned for NCAA rules violations committed under former coach Cheryl Littlejohn, and her replacement, Brenda (Oldfield) Frese, left after just one season with the Gophers.
“When she first came here there were some issues. Ö It takes a special coach to be able to accomplish what she has,”
Maturi said.
Borton has said she wants to remain in Minnesota.
“I feel like I’ve got one of the best jobs in the country with the best kids and the best fan support and one of the best places to play (Division I) women’s basketball in the country,” Borton said at a press conference Wednesday.
Borton and her assistants will also be awarded sizable bonuses for reaching the Final Four, receiving 17 percent of their base salaries. They would have received 20 percent bonuses if the Gophers won the championship.
Assistant Dave Stromme is reportedly being considered for the head coaching position at Minnesota State-Mankato. Maturi said the school has not contacted him, but that does not mean Stromme is not a candidate.
