University Star

Football coaches Dennis Franchione of Texas State and Larry Coker of Texas-San Antonio enter the first seasons at their respective schools with similar backgrounds. Both coached Football Bowl Subdivision powerhouses, and both teams will begin playing in 2012 in the Western Athletic Conference. Franchione goes into Texas State’s final Southland Conference season with head coaching experience at New Mexico, Alabama and Texas A&M, among other schools. Coker begins his season as UTSA’s first football coach with experience at Oklahoma, Ohio State and as the head coach at Miami, where in 2001 he won a national championship.

Coker, during his press conference March 6, 2009, said being UTSA’s first head football coach is a large part of the program’s history, but knows the job does not come without challenges.

“It is a marathon, not a sprint,” Coker said. “I see some very special things, and you really don’t have an opportunity to start something like this very often . . . We are going to recruit better players in years two, three and four as the process goes on. We are going to keep getting better each year as far as winning.”

Franchione sees a future rivalry between the Bobcats and the Roadrunners.

“The opportunity to have UT San Antonio starting football, and us both joining the WAC — that fires me up,” Franchione said. “That’s exciting. I think with Larry (Coker) and I, it will always be a competitive, fun and hard-fought rivalry.”

For coaches with similar experience and situations in entering WAC play, there are differences between them in terms of contracts. Franchione’s guaranteed salary is $350,000, while Coker’s base salary is $220,000 for next season (which increases through Aug. 31, 2015 by $12,000 increments. From Sept. 1, 2014 until Aug. 31, 2015 he has a $256,000 guaranteed base salary. The base is $90,333.32 from Sept. 1, 2015 until Dec. 31, 2015 — the end of his contract.).

Incentives for the two coaches vary as well. Franchione could earn $100,000 for a Bowl Championship Subdivision game appearance, while Coker can earn one month’s base salary for a conference championship.

Dennis Franchione

Texas State University
Contract term: Jan. 7, 2011 to Jan. 7, 2016
Base Salary: $350,000


Performance incentives:

• Winning season: Eight wins or more,
• 2011-2013 seasons, $25,000
•  
• Conference championship: $20,000
•  
• Non-BCS bowl game appearance:
• $25,000
•  
• BCS bowl game appearance: $100,000

Larry Coker

University of Texas-San Antonio
Contract term: April 1, 2009 to Dec. 31, 2015
Base Salary: $220,000 for the 2012 season (up to $256,000 through Aug. 31, 2015)

Performance incentives:

• Winning season conference
• championship Subdivision play off
• appearance in 2011:  $5,000 for each
• game folowing
•  
• FCS Championship:  Conference Coach
• of the Year:  $4,000
•  
• National Coach of the Year:  $8,000