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FAMU trustees recommend one-year contract for new men's basketball coach Patrick Crarey II
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- FAMU trustees recommend one-year contract for new men's basketball coach Patrick Crarey II
New Florida A&M men's basketball coach Patrick Crarey II may get a shorter contract than expected.
At Tuesday's FAMU Direct Support Organization and Athletics Committee virtual meeting, FAMU trustee Kelvin Lawson motioned a recommendation for Crarey to be signed to a one-year contract.
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The meeting followed the FAMU Board of Trustees approving a one-year contract for the university's interim president, Dr. Timothy Beard .
"One could easily conclude that I'm not predicting success," Lawson said.
"What I'm trying to do is mitigate the risk. If I go with one year because I'm not 100 percent confident and the year is successful, then great ― I'll go with multiyear."
Lawson added that FAMU Vice President and Director of Athletics Tiffani-Dawn Sykes "can decide if she wants an option for extended years upon first-year success at her discretion" and choose to add incentives at her discretion.
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FAMU trustee Michael White seconded the motion, and it passed with a 6-2 majority vote proctored by FAMU associate general counsel David Self.
FAMU trustees Lawson, Deveron Gibbons, Loryn May, Kenward Stone, Nicole Washington, and Michael White favored the one-year contract. FAMU trustees Natalie Figgers and Belvin Perry Jr. voted against it.
Crarey signed a three-year contract worth $450,000 ($150,000 annually) in April.
Crarey most recently served as head basketball coach at St. Thomas University, a private Catholic university in Miami Gardens. He also was the school's assistant athletic director.
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Last June, however, the FAMU Board of Trustees tabled the contract's approval until the board's Orlando retreat next month.
Lawson's reasoning is to lessen the financial blow to FAMU.
On the three-year contract, if FAMU parts ways with Crarey without cause or for any reason after one season, it would owe the coach a maximum exposure of 20 weeks, a little less than $60,000.
Florida A&M head men's basketball coach Patrick Crarey II addresses media for the first time after his introductory press conference at the Al Lawson Center in Tallahassee, Florida, Thursday, April 18, 2024. Crarey was hired away from St. Thomas University in Miami Gardens, Florida.
The three-year contract was never voted on during Tuesday's meeting because it didn't get a motion and "died on the agenda," said FAMU Board of Trustees Vice Chair Gibbons .
Sykes contended the recommendation of Crarey having a one-year option contract, expressing her belief in the new men's basketball coach's leadership of the Rattlers.
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"I wholeheartedly believe that this is the person to lead our program forward at this time. I know he can do the job," Sykes said. "I think it best aligns with our strategic priorities and goals when we speak about recruiting and retaining talent to offer a multiyear contract."
Hiring process of new FAMU men's basketball coach Patrick Crarey discussed
Florida A&M head men's basketball coach Patrick Crarey II has his introductory press conference at the Al Lawson Center in Tallahassee, Florida, Thursday, April 18, 2024. Crarey was hired away from St. Thomas University in Miami Gardens, Florida.
Tuesday's FAMU DSO and Athletics Committee meeting attendees often referenced a 50-person list for the Rattlers' coaching vacancy.
In June, a newsletter for small basketball programs, 'Don't Forget About Us,' released a 51-person list of applicants , including Crarey, for the FAMU men's basketball coach vacancy via a public records request.
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"Everyone knows it takes time in a program to rebuild. I get that. I want to be careful what I say because I'm not trying to be disparaging, but out of 50 candidates, this person probably wouldn't have finished in the top five in most races," Lawson said.
The list of applicants for the FAMU job spans from high school coaches to coaches with NBA experience.
"I don't want to get into hiring or firing. That's not my job," Gibbons said.
"But it bothers me when I see some names on there, many which I don't even know, but I look at their background and experience and wonder how we got to this individual [Crarey] that's two [divisions] beneath where we are playing in the SWAC. I lean towards the person having a one-year agreement and give them a contract based on how they do this year and revisit it later."
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FAMU assembled a five-person search committee to help Sykes identify Crarey as the Rattlers' 15th head men's basketball coach.
"We have procedures in place," said FAMU trustee Otis Cliatt II. "The AD followed those procedures. She included DSOs, Booster Club folks, and so on. They, too, had an opportunity to look at this list. This is the person they came up with."
One-year contract for FAMU men's basketball coach Patrick Crarey II would be SWAC's shortest, database says
Sykes said that according to the Winthrop Intelligence database, the shortest term of head men's basketball coaches in the SWAC is three years, and the longest is four years.
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That means a one-year deal would make Crarey the short, contractually tenured coach in the SWAC.
"If we are serious about building a serious basketball program, you got to look at it through the eyes of a recruit," Perry said. "In the advent of the [NCAA Transfer Portal], how many recruits want to come when they know the coach has a one-year contract? Do they want to sign on with a coach they know has a one-year contract?"
Only four FAMU athletics positions get multiyear contracts ― the athletic director, head football coach, head men's basketball coach, and head women's basketball coach.
"I'm not sure if any university will benefit from having a revenue sports coach on a one-year contract," Cliatt said. "I'm not sure how attractive that looks to anybody. And once the word gets out in that circle of coaches that this school brought in a revenue coach for one year ― I think that's a stigma that's hard to get rid of."
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"Patrick Crarey Employment Agreement" is listed on the FAMU Board of Trustees' consent agenda for its Aug. 8 meeting during the board's Orlando retreat.
"The goal is not to be punitive. The goal is to protect the institution financially to ensure that we're getting the best available talent for the roles we have available," Lawson said of his motion for Crarey to get a one-year contract. "This approach allows us a degree of protection."
Gerald Thomas, III covers Florida A&M University Athletics for the Tallahassee Democrat. Contact him via email at gdthomas@tallahassee.com or on the app formerly known as Twitter @3peatgee .
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This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: FAMU trustees recommend shorter contract for new basketball coach
