Internet Gambling Companies Notice Calhoun’s Extension. The Connecticut Huskies were a bit of a disappointment this past season vs. the odds at Internet gambling companies but they are bringing back Hall of Fame coach Jim Calhoun. The school gave him a new five-year, $13 million contract. Whether that contract is deserved or not is another story since the Huskies were pretty much a bust last season vs. the online gambling odds.
Internet gambling companies listed the Huskies last season as a losing team against the point spread. The Huskies were a very poor 13-19 against the online gambling point spread. Even though Connecticut had a poor season, the school is bringing back Calhoun and paying him a lot of money. He is going to be paid $2 million retroactive to last season and $2.3 million next season. In 2011-2012 his total compensation goes up to $2.7 million and in the last two years of his contract the money goes up to $3 million per year.
Connecticut didn’t even make the NCAA Tournament last season even though they had a lot of talent. The Huskies lost to Virginia Tech in the second round of the NIT. Connecticut didn’t seem to care about recent performance though as they gave Calhoun a huge raise. Calhoun had health issues last season and his team didn’t seem to respond to his coaching. None of that seemed to matter though.
Athletic director Jeff Hathaway said there were complexities in the contract that caused the delay, but said Calhoun’s off-the-court issues played no role in the talks. “Jim’s age never played into these conversations,” Connecticut athletic direction Jeff Hathaway said, “Jim’s health never played into these conversations. The NCAA review never played into these conversations. Jim is an all-in 110 percent person. And when he’s not all-in and when he’s not 110 percent, he’s going to tell me, I’m not going to have to tell him.”
Calhoun has had a lot of success at Connecticut. He has won two national titles at the school and he was elected into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2005. His Huskies made the Final Four in 2009 but last year the team was a mess. In addition to his health issues and the team’s poor play, Connecticut is also under investigation for possible rules violations. The Huskies still get a lot of respect in college basketball odds at Internet gambling companies even though they sometimes don’t deserve it.