Mick Cronin from Cincinnati- High school prospects want to ensure that when they sign with a program their coach will be there for the longevity of their eligibility with the team. Coaches target and begin talking to players sometimes as early as their sophomore or junior year of high school. So keeping a contract at around 6-7 years long lessens the likelihood of Cronin being axed by UC* while he is playing for the Bearcats.
*This would never happen. UC loves Mick and visa versa. But its good for the high school players to see that mutual commitment in writing.
If Lances tweets hold true, Mick Cronin will make roughly $1 million more in his new contract than the last time he signed an extension. Bringing the UC head coach up to the $2 million club is critical for Bearcats basketball. In the simplest of terms, this pay bump makes it that much more expensive for other schools to poach Cronin from Cincinnati. Now, we all know hes worth that money and more, but most schools wont take that risk.
Still, while throwing money at Mick will certainly keep him happy and ensure he wont leave Cincinnati if a more perfect job comes along, this is but one task among many that Bohn needs to accomplish on the basketball side. He still needs to address the outdated arena issue and give the UC head coach and his staff a larger recruiting budget. But if this news today is any indication, the new Cincinnati athletic director more than understands the situation at hand and will do what it takes to fulfill those needs for Mick Cronin.