Dameron’s contract pending approval
Eastern’s Board of Trustees will vote on Kim Dameron’s five-year contract on Feb. 28.
Dameron was hired as Eastern’s football coach on Jan. 11, replacing Dino Babers. Dameron will earn a base salary of $170,000 per year and if he remains the head coach as of Sept. 1, 2017, he will receive an additional $15,000 to his base salary.
His contract expires on Dec. 31, 2018.
In addition to his base salary, Dameron’s contract has several academic and achievement-based incentives.
For example, if at the end of any spring semester his team’s GPA is at or above 2.8, Dameron will receive $2,000. He will also earn $2,000 if the team’s Academic Progress Rate is at or above 950, starting with the 2015-16 academic calendar.
Academic Progress Rate is a statistic created by the NCAA to measure the success of college teams in moving student-athletes toward graduation.
The contract’s achievement compensation awards also include a $1,500 payment to Dameron if the team wins seven or more games in the regular season against Division I opponents, but if the team wins nine or more games he will receive $3,000.
Dameron also has the opportunity to earn an additional $2,000 if the team wins the Ohio Valley Conference title. If Eastern is a co-champion, Dameron will receive $1,000.
If Dameron wins the OVC coach of the year award, he will be given $1,500 and $5,000 if he wins the Sports Network FCS Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year, which is the FCS’s national coach of the year award.
For every FCS playoff appearance that Eastern reaches under Dameron, he will receive $1,000 and he will earn an additional $2,000 for every game the Panthers play after the first round.
Dameron will be paid $5,000 if his team plays in the FCS National Championship game and $10,000 if the team wins it.
Eastern will play two FBS opponents in Dameron’s first year as head coach, starting with Minnesota on Aug. 30, and Ohio on Sept. 27. For every win against an FBS team, Dameron would be paid $2,500.
At the end of every season, Dameron could be paid between $1,000 and $5,000 depending on the team’s ranking in the FCS Coaches poll. If Eastern finishes ranked No. 1, he would receive $5,000 and a top-five ranking would earn him $2,500. A top-25 ranking would have Dameron earn $1,000.
All of the incentives in Dameron’s contract are exactly the same as in Babers’ previous contract. The lone difference is the length of the contract, as Babers’ signed a three-year deal while Dameron signed a five-year agreement.
Babers left Eastern after winning two straight OVC titles and leading the Panthers to a quarterfinal appearance in the FCS playoffs with one year remaining on his contract.
Eastern Athletic Director Barbara Burke said she does not think Dameron would be looking to leave if he found quick success.
“I don’t believe Kim is using (Eastern) as a stepping stone,” Burke said. “I believe that Kim truly in his heart feels we can win a national championship here and that’s what he’s trying to do.”
Burke said winning a national championship takes time, but that Dameron would be set up to be successful at Eastern.
“I know that through our contracts and things of that nature that he is set up to have success here, to stay here,” she said. “It doesn’t mean that people won’t call and that is what I have to be prepared for.”
Aldo Soto can be reached at 581-2812 or asoto2@eiu.edu.