So how much more sports-related money do Tubby Smith and other top Gopher coaches earn above their state salaries and perks? That’s what the Minnesota Daily newspaper wanted to know when it asked the University of Minnesota for the annual “athletically related income reports” for coaches Smith (basketball), Tim Brewster (football), J Robinson (wrestling) and Don Lucia (hockey).

Sorry, Minnesota Commissioner of Administration Dana Badgerow ruled, that’s none of your business.

Whistleblower likes to check in on Badgerow’s rulings, which involve disputes over what information state and local agencies can withhold from the public.

In this case, the law requires state and local governments to disclose the following compensation info about public employees: “actual gross salary; salary range; contract fees; actual gross pension; the value and nature of employer paid fringe benefits; and the basis for and the amount of any added remuneration, including expense reimbursement, in addition to salary.”

According to Badgerow’s ruling, certain university employees, including head coaches, have to file documents called a “Report of External Professional Activities” that would identify the work and other financial and business interests, as well as whether they earn more than $10,000 from those activities. “Employees are not required to report the amount of their outside compensation in further detail.” NCAA rules also require coaches to report “athletically related income from sources outside the institution.”

Tracy Smith, associate general counsel for the U of M, successfully argued that the “added remuneration” provision only applies to records of government-derived income. Income from sports camps, commercials and other activities while coaches aren’t working on state time isn’t a matter of public record, Badgerow ruled.

Badgerow did offer this caveat: “…if, for instance, one of the coaches ran an athletic camp or was filming commercials for a particular sponsor and was allowed to do so during time for which he was being paid to work, this would amount to a paid fringe benefit or added remuneration from the University and would be considered public data.”

Vadim Lavrusik, editor-in-chief of the Daily, told me he and the paper’s attorney were surprised that the state said the university could keep the information secret.

“If the university has an interest in knowing this, the outside compensation they’re getting, that should be public information,” Lavrusik told me. If the U didn’t think it was relevant to the coach’s total compensation, “Why would the university ask for it then?” he said.

My colleague Myron P. Medcalf reported last year that by Smith “became the highest-paid employee in University of Minnesota history when he signed his memorandum of understanding last March.” That includes up to $13 million in base, supplemental and
camp money over the seven-year contract, and additional money in “incentives that could boost his annual salary to more than
$3.3 million this year [2007]. He also receives a car, tickets to Gophers athletic contests and travel expenses to games for his family, plus retirement money.”

Medcalf’s story continued: “Here are the biggest changes between the contract Smith signed and the memo of understanding agreed to when he accepted the job in March: - A guaranteed annual raise in base salary of 5 percent, pending a yearly job review. There was no guaranteed raise in the memo of understanding. Smith’s base salary this year is $600,000, and a 5 percent annual raise will boost the base to more than $800,000 in the seventh year of the deal. Smith’s $1.15 million annual supplemental income remains fixed over the contract. - Smith will receive $50,000 every summer he holds a basketball camp at the university over the first four years of the deal, and will also be allowed to retain camp profits. The memorandum contained no such camp money from the university, meaning Smith will receive an extra $200,000 for operating camps, plus profits from the camps.”

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