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Bobby Knight keeps payback promise

Saturday, October 23, 2004

The promise that Texas Tech men's basketball coach Bob Knight made 19 months ago to return a year's salary will be realized this season.

Knight will be paid $90,000 as a base salary for 2004-05 instead of the $300,000 stipulated in the new five-year contract that he signed last month, said athletic director Gerald Myers. Knight made the promise in March 2003 following a disappointing regular season.

"I discouraged him from doing that, but he had his mind made up," Myers said. "You get [about] $200,000 back like that – it's like having two or three more home games. That's a really good gift for him to give to the department."Through men's basketball publicist Randy Farley, Knight didn't offer any comment.

Myers said the payback didn't happen until now for tax reasons. He said paying Knight less, rather than having money already paid returned, will benefit both parties because he won't pay income tax on the returned amount. Myers estimated that could have eaten 40 percent given Knight's tax bracket.

This won't be the first time that Knight will coach the Red Raiders at a bargain rate. He offered to coach his first season for free to help Tech reduce an athletic deficit that had reached $1.5 million. But he needed to be paid at least a token sum to qualify for benefits, and the salary for 2001-02 was listed in his initial Tech contract at $15,000.