UNC AD Bubba Cunningham is set to receive a huge bonus check after the Tar Heels made the NCAA Tournament.
The Tar Heels somehow slid into the tournament as an 11-seed in a play-in game against San Diego State. Just how controversial was the decision?
UNC went 1-12 in quad one games this season. One single win against a top-level opponent, and they got in over teams with much more impressive resumes.
That’s why social media erupted at the decision. The optics are brutally bad because the chairman of the selection committee is Cunningham, who claimed he left the room during discussions about UNC!
Bubba Cunningham earns bonus after UNC’s controversial Big Dance bid.
The optics are about to get a lot worse for Cunningham, UNC and the selection committee because there’s a lot of money involved.
Cunningham is set to receive a bonus of just under $68,000 due to the Tar Heels making the field, according to contract details shared by Carolina Insider (via the New York Post).
He stands to make another $225,000 in bonus money if the Tar Heels are able to pull off a miraculous run and win the national title.
His bonus structure for the tournament breaks down as follows:
- $50,000 for reaching the Sweet 16
- $75,000 for reaching the Final Four
- $100,000 for winning the national title
An AD having bonuses in a contract is standard operating procedure in major college athletics. It’s not unusual at all, but that’s not going to do anything to stem the outrage.
The tweet below sums it up nicely. There’s no logical explanation for what happened, and Cunningham now has a nice little bonus coming his way.
Life sure is nice for him.
UNC fans certainly have plenty to be happy about, but the rest of college basketball is certainly not pleased. Hit me with your thoughts at [email protected].
