Athletic Director Dan Guerrero will stay at UCLA through 2019 under new contract

Athletic Director Dan Guerrero signed a new contract that extends his employment at UCLA through the end of 2019 and increases his annual salary, university officials announced today.

The Daily Bruin obtained a copy of the contract, which UC President Mark Yudof approved. The contract began on April 1, 2013 and extends through December 31, 2019. It comes with an annual salary of $734,774 and a 5 percent yearly increase. A recent report from USA Today showed that Guerrero is the Pac-12’s top-paid athletic director.

This contract replaces Guerrero’s previous one, which expired on March 31, though there was a clause in the contract that would have extended it to 2017 if a new contract was not in place by that date, according to an email statement from UCLA spokesman Steve Ritea. Guerrero started his job at UCLA 11 years ago this month.

The new agreement allows the chancellor to name supplemental compensation possibilities up to $105,000 per year – up to $20,000 for advancement in academic progress and up to $10,000 for alignment between Athletics and the campus. Additionally, Guerrero can receive up to $15,000 for achieving a standing in the top 10 percent of the Directors’ Cup, an award that gives points to schools based on each of their sports’ achievement over the course of the season and measures the overall success of schools’ athletic programs.

The chancellor can also award discretionary bonuses up to $25,000 for performances in areas such as Title IX compliance and the conduct of student athletes.

Guerrero will also receive a $734,000 retention bonus for completing five years under the contract.

During his tenure, Guerrero has balanced personnel decisions regarding all of UCLA’s teams with soliciting donations to the Wooden Athletic Fund, the source of booster funding vital to the athletic department of a publicly funded school.

In the revenue-generating sports of football and men’s basketball, Guerrero has overseen sporadic success. He fired the coaches of both teams in his first year on the job and hasn’t yet found a stable leader for either. In the last two years, he had to fire both coaches again and find replacements. Football coach Jim Mora, who achieved success in his first year, is entering his second season, while basketball coach Steve Alford was hired Saturday to replace Ben Howland.

The remainder of UCLA’s teams have continued to be competitive nationally. When Guerrero started, UCLA had already garnered 88 team NCAA championships. Under his 11-year tenure the school has collected 20 more to get to 108, becoming the first program ever to reach triple digits when women’s water polo won No. 100 in 2007.

Guerrero also oversaw the $136-million renovation of Pauley Pavilion, which reopened in November 2012 with the help of booster support. A new swimming and diving facility, the Spieker Aquatics Center, was also created under his watch and UCLA recently made improvements to Jackie Robinson Stadium, where Guerrero played baseball as a student-athlete in the 1970s.

[Updated at 12:10 p.m.: Guerrero and UCLA Chancellor Gene Block released statements about the contract on Thursday morning, in which the two noted their excitement about the opportunity to work together for the next six years.

“Serving my alma mater is the honor of a lifetime, and I am committed to continuing to support our student–athletes and staff by implementing the vision set out by Chancellor Block. My sincere appreciation to the chancellor. Together, we will continue to do great things,” Guerrero said.
Chancellor Block noted the successes Guerrero has had in his first years at the program, beyond just fiscal management and athletic success.

“Under Dan Guerrero, UCLA has become a national example of how intercollegiate athletics serve and further the mission of higher education. Dan has excelled in both commonly accepted barometers of success in a role like his: fiscal management and athletic victories. But the true story of his success also needs to include critical, if less noticed, factors like his efforts to advance women’s opportunities in athletics and maintain high academic standards for student–athletes, and his rigorous work to keep UCLA programs in compliance with NCAA and other requirements,” Block said.

“Dan also serves on countless national boards and committees and is nationally recognized as dean and senior member of athletic directors within the Pac-12. I look forward to working closely with him to build on those successes over the next six years.”

In an interview with the Daily Bruin on Wednesday, Guerrero noted that he planned to take a major role in fundraising for the UCLA’s Centennial Campaign, for which he said that Athletics will aim to raise several million dollars. He also said that he recognized improvements he could make that would aid that goal.

“I will be involved front and center as the face of the program in many respects to help shepherd and foster our program through those efforts to generate the dollars that are necessary for us to fulfill that goal,” Guerrero said. “Being a more external presence is something I believe will enhance the program as we move forward.”]

Compiled by Ryan Menezes and Emma Coghlan, Bruin Sports senior staff.