By Braden Keith on SwimSwam
New University of Arizona head coach Ben Loorz will begin his tenure leading the Wildcats with a $165,000 base salary that will climb to $175,000 by the 2028-2029 season as part of a 5-year, $845,000 contract.
That is within range of the most recent employment agreement for outgoing head coach Augie Busch, who had a base salary of $175,000 per year in his most recent two-year contract that ran from July 1, 2022 through June 30, 2024. Those were the sixth and seventh years of Busch’s term as head coach of the program.
Loorz’s deal also comes with reimbursement for moving costs, up to 10% of his base salary and a $15,000 buyout of his contract at UNLV.
Loorz’s incentives are similar to Busch’s as well. They include up to $7,500 per team for a perfect multi-year APR and up to $7,500 per team for GPA, with a maximum academic performance bonus of up to $15,000 in any given year. The most-recently available data indicate that the head coach would have received the maximum bonus in recent seasons.
Loorz would also receive $5,000 for each Big 12 team title; plus $5,000 for each NCAA top 10 team finish, $7,500 for each NCAA top 4 team finish, or $15,000 for each NCAA Championship.
Arizona’s last top 10 finishes at the NCAA Championships were in 2014, where the men finished 7th and the women finished 8th.
Other perks include a vehicle stipend or university-provided car; free tickets for Arizona varsity home competitions, travel costs for his family to the NCAA Championships, and a country club or health club membership.
Termination/Buyouts
- If the university were to terminate the contract with cause because of violations of NCAA or Big 12 regulations, Loorz would owe $100,000. This becomes especially important because of a number of issues with NCAA violations for the university, including two NCAA investigations and sanctions for violations within the diving program since 2017 and significant issues within the basketball program that included the arrest of an assistant coach.
- If the university terminates the agreement without cause, it owes any accrued incentives, plus the remainder of the base salary – mitigated by any salary earned by the coach in a new job.
- A buyout clause if Loorz terminates the contract early and accepts a job within 12 months will require him to pay $82,500 if terminated in the first two years of the contract, $41,200 in years three and four, and $25,600 if terminated in year five.
Loorz takes over an Arizona team that has been struggling in recent seasons, with the men’s team coming off recording their lowest finish since 1976 in 2023, placing 32nd at the Men’s NCAA Championships. The Wildcats were 27th in 2024, though 13 of 19 points came from diving.
The women’s team didn’t score a point at the 2024 NCAA Championships and has only scored a combined 7.5 swimming points over the past four national championship meets.
SwimSwam: Ben Loorz Receives 5-Year, $845,000 Base Contract as Head Swim Coach at Arizona
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