Larry Eustachy Gives Back. Apparently, He Doesn't Bring In $12 million

By now, everyone has seen the video of Jim Calhoun's outburst at a freelance "reporter" who asked the UConn head coach if he would consider giving back any of his salary to help with Connecticut's budget deficit (we wrote about it here). Jodi Rell has spoken out against Calhoun, and now two state legislators have spoken up, saying that they believe Calhoun should be disciplined for the outburst.

Maybe what they say about southern hospitality is right.

On Friday, Southern Miss head coach Larry Eustachy announced that he would be giving back $25,000 to the school to help it through these difficult economic times (h/t The Quad). Said Eustachy (to the Clarion Ledger):

This season has been very frustrating, not only for the coaches and fans, but also for the team. I apologize to the administration and fans for this year’s results and will continue to work toward the success of the Golden Eagle program. The university, fans and administration have been so supportive. I am part of the Golden Eagle family and I want the team and program to succeed more than anyone else does. To that end, until I can turn around the program I have told the administration that I do not want a contract extension and I will donate part of my compensation package back to Southern Miss to help during these difficult economic times. I want to win a championship at Southern Miss and I know that we can do it.

If you think you recognize the name Larry Eustachy, you probably do - he's the former Iowa State coach (and national coach of the year as well as two-time Big XII coach of the year) who resigned after photos surfaced of him partying with some Missouri students the night after his Cyclones lost in Columbia, MO. While he seems to have conquered his alcoholism, improving the Southern Miss basketball program has been a much different story.

Larry Eustachy has turned his life around after that fateful night in 2003.
You can't say the same for the Southern Miss basketball program.
(Photo credit: southernmiss.cstv.com)

In his fifth season at USM, the Golden Eagles are just about where they were his first year. Sitting at 14-14 and just 4-10 in C-USA does not exactly lend one to believe that Eustachy is in the midst of making this program competitive with Memphis. To be fair, he won 20 and then 19 games in the two season before this, but he has yet to take USM to any postseason tournament.

So I ask you - why is Eustachy giving back $25,000? His salary is $380,000 a year, which means he isn't exactly living in a card board box (the money he is giving back isn't a part of his salary, rather a bonus based on ticket sales and incentives). Is it because he genuinely believes that he does not deserve the money? Is it because he genuinely wants to help out the Southern Miss community? Is it because he is trying to get his name in the news for something positive in case he is too lose his job at USM?

I don't know, but I will say this: no matter who you are, $25,000 is a lot of money to give away, so Eustachy must really believe that it is a smart decision.