What is Oakland coach Greg Kampe's bonus after his team's upset of Kentucky? It's complicated

It seems pretty likely that Oakland University men’s basketball coach Greg Kampe get a bonus payment for his No. 14-seeded team’s colossal, 80-76 upset of No. 3 seed Kentucky on Thursday night in an NCAA men’s basketball tournament first-round game.

However, according to the university’s general counsel’s office, only two people know the amount: Kampe and Oakland athletics director Steve Waterfield.

Kampe’s contract with the school, obtained by USA TODAY Sports through an open-records request, includes a highly unusual arrangement under which any performance-bonus payments are at the AD’s discretion and based on unspecified goals that are to be determined annually and are subject to change at any time. The only parameter established is that these bonuses cannot total more than 19.9% of Kampe’s current base salary.

Kampe’s salary for this season is $329,609, the general counsel’s office said. (Kentucky coach John Calipari’s basic annual pay for this season is scheduled to be $8.5 million.)

Late last week, USA TODAY Sports asked Oakland for a copy of Kampe’s goals and available bonus amounts for this season. The general counsel’s office responded by saying there is no responsive document.

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Most college sports coaches’ contracts include specified bonus goals and amounts. For example, while Calipari is the only Power Five conference men’s basketball coach whose contract includes no bonuses for on-court performance, it specifies that he will get $50,000 if the team’s NCAA Academic Progress Rate figure for any given year is at least 975 out of a possible 1000.

Kampe’s deal with Oakland states: “The Athletics Director will annually establish specific goals for the Program, student-athletes participating in the Program and/or the Head Basketball Coach, and a Performance Incentive amount for the successful achievement of each such goal. The Athletics Director may revise the specific goals and amounts from time to time after they have been established, but only with prior notice to and after consultation with the Head Basketball Coach. The amount of all such Performance Incentives and whether or not the goal has been achieved will be at the Athletics Director's sole and absolute discretion; provided however, Performance Incentives cannot exceed Nineteen and 90/100 Percent (19.9%) of the Head Basketball Coach's then Base Annual Salary in any one University fiscal year.”

Kampe's contract also says he is annually entitled to receive a "Scheduling Bonus." For this, the AD is to select one away game as the "Scheduling Bonus Game." Kampe then receives an amount equal to the appearance guarantee that Oakland is paid for the game, "less all actual expenses incurred by the University directly related to the Scheduling Bonus Game, including without limitation, transportation, meals, lodging, etc." Guarantees for men's basketball games against Power Five teams could pay around $100,000 — perhaps a little more — and Oakland typically plays more than one of those each season. The Golden Grizzlies played at three Big Ten schools this season - Ohio State, Illinois and Michigan State.

These are just a couple of the many ways in which there is a massive financial gap between the Oakland and Kentucky programs — the types of gaps that make upsets like Thursday night’s such a signature part of the event:

▶In their 2023 fiscal years, the schools’ annual financial reports to the NCAA showed that Kentucky attributed $23.6 million in operating expenses to men’s basketball. Oakland reported spending $17.6 million on its entire athletics program, including $2.3 million on men’s basketball.

▶Oakland’s total outlay for sports in fiscal 2023 is just over half of what Kentucky would owe Calipari as a buyout if it were to fire him without cause on April 1. That amount is $34,968,749.

▶Three of Kentucky’s assistant coaches have base salaries for this season that are greater than Kampe’s.

• Orlando Antigua is making $900,000, and he will get a $400,000 retention payment if he completes his three-year contract on June 30.
• Ronald “Chin” Coleman is making $600,000.
• Chuck Martin is making $350,000