How much will Sundance Wicks make at UW?

May 22—LARAMIE — Engineering one of the best turnarounds in all of Division I basketball earned Sundance Wicks a sizeable raise this offseason.

The former University of Wisconsin-Green Bay head coach signed a one-year extension in April after leading the Phoenix to a 15-win improvement from the year before. He was also named the Horizon League coach of the year, which led to him becoming the highest paid coach in Green Bay's history.

Wicks was set to make $300,000 with the Phoenix next season, a number that would have ballooned to $400,000 in the final year of the contract in 2028-29, according to the Green Bay Press Gazette.

While Green Bay gave Wicks his first DI head coaching job in basketball, the program simply couldn't financially compete with the University of Wyoming when the Cowboys' head job opened up earlier this month. When Jeff Linder resigned after four seasons to join Grant McCasland's staff at Texas Tech, UW athletics director Tom Burman immediately called Wicks to interview for the job.

The hire made sense for both parties. Burman was looking for a fresh face to navigate the program through the name, image and likeness era of college sports, and Wicks grew up dreaming of one day coaching the Cowboys.

The Gillette product's dream came true, as the former UW assistant officially signed a five-year deal as the 23rd head coach in school history on May 12.

Going into his second DI head coaching job, how much is Wicks set to make at UW?

Wicks' salary for his first season in Laramie starts at $650,000, which is more than double what he would have made at Green Bay. The compensation package includes $300,000 as a base salary and another $350,000 in non-state funds distributed for appearances with the Cowboy Joe Club, marketing and branding, community outreach and media opportunities.

Wicks' package jumps to $850,000 in 2025-26, $875,000 in 2026-27, $925,000 in 2027-28 and $950,000 in 2028-29.

Wicks also has several opportunities to earn additional income through academic and athletic incentives. In the classroom, Wicks could earn up to $20,000 per year through the academic progress rate achievement award.

On the court, an NCAA Tournament appearance and each subsequent March Madness win is worth one month of Wicks' base salary, or roughly $25,000 in the first year of the contract. Postseason awards are also incentivized, including a Mountain West regular-season championship ($25,000), MW coach of the year ($10,000) and Associated Press, Jim Phelan or Naismith national coach of the year awards ($25,000).

Wicks will also be rewarded for success in league play. The coach will earn $5,000 if the Cowboys win 10 conference games in a season, and that number rises all the way to $55,000 if UW finds a way to run the table and go a perfect 20-0 in the MW during the regular season.

Ticket sales is another way for Wicks to make additional money. His contract includes an extra $50,000 for $700,000.01-$800,000 of ticket revenue, $75,000 for $800,000.01-$900,000 of ticket revenue, $100,000 for $900,000.01-$999,999.99 of ticket revenue and $150,000 for $1 million or more in ticket revenue.

If Wicks accepts another college or professional job in athletics during the contract, he would owe UW $1.2 million before March 31, 2025; $900,000 between April 1, 2025, and March 31, 2026; $600,000 between April 1, 2026, and March 31, 2027; and $300,000 between April 1, 2027, and March 31, 2028. The buyout goes to $0 on April 1, 2028.

Wicks is not allowed to seek or apply for other positions without prior notice to Burman, according to the contract.

Wicks' buyout with Green Bay was $705,000 following his contract extension, according to the Green Bay Press Gazette. While representatives from Green Bay didn't return calls to WyoSports about the buyout amount, Wicks' contract acknowledges UW is responsible for paying the fee.

"The university shall treat the contract termination expense as an ordinary and necessary business expense incurred by the university in return for the right to hire (Wicks)," the contract said.

Wicks wasn't the only basketball coach to make the transition from Green Bay to Laramie. He brought a pair of assistant coaches with him from the Phoenix's bench, including Patrick Monaghan and Nic Reynolds.

Monaghan's one-year contract runs May 17 to April 30, 2025. It includes a base salary of $175,008, with the opportunity for incentive-based earnings like Wicks. Reynolds' contract runs May 16 to April 30, 2025, with a salary of $132,000.

Linder's buyout

Burman and Texas Tech made an nontraditional agreement following Linder's resignation. Linder's buyout included a fee of $1,101,606.13, which was 50% of his remaining base salary and additional compensation through 2027.

Linder was owed $104,053.08, including $89,053.08 for vacation and sick leave and another $15,000 for the APR achievement award.

Burman and Texas Tech elected to convert the majority of Linder's buyouts into competitions. The Red Raiders paid UW $300,000 to add two home basketball games against the Cowboys in each of the next two seasons.

UW will earn $150,000 to play a road basketball game in the 2024-25 season and another $150,000 in the 2025-26 season against Texas Tech, both in Lubbock.

The buyout also included an increase in UW's guaranteed money for its return trip to Texas Tech in football in 2028. The guaranteed rate went from $300,000 to $500,000 as part of Linder's buyout. The football rematch is scheduled for Sept. 16, 2028.

Both parties agreed to waive the remaining money, which was approximately $497,000 owed to UW.

"In an effort to craft a win/win situation for both UW and coach Linder, it was important that all parties had skin in the game," Burman said in a statement to WyoSports on Tuesday. "Coach Linder, after two highly successful seasons early in his tenure, felt it was in the best interest for all parties that he be allowed to pursue the associate head coach position with his long-time friend and mentor at Texas Tech.

"UW was unwilling to release him completely from the liquidated damages provision of his contract. Bottom line: UW agreed to waive the remaining portion of his liquidated damages after coach Linder vacated the money owed to him and Texas Tech agreed to provide financial support for a few competitions. UW felt this was a good compromise."

Linder signed a five-year contract extension in 2022 following the Cowboys' first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2015. The contract included a salary of $740,008 for this upcoming season, including a $340,008 base salary and $400,000 through additional compensation.

Alex Taylor is the assistant editor for WyoSports and covers University of Wyoming athletics. He can be reached at ataylor@wyosports.net. Follow him on X at @alex_m_taylor22.