Breaking Down UTEP Coach Scotty Walden's Contract: What to Know

Less than 80 days remain until the kickoff of the 2024 UTEP football season, including the official debut of the Scotty Walden era with the Miners.

Earlier this week, Steve Kaplowitz and 600 ESPN El Paso obtained a copy of the official contract for coach Walden, which featured no real surprises. You can read the full contract below. Here are some key takeaways:

5-Year, $800k Contract

Walden's contract with the Miners is a five-year deal, running from December 6, 2023, through December 31, 2028. He will receive a base salary of $500,000 per year, with a guaranteed media supplement of $300,000 annually, totaling to an $800,000 contract on a yearly basis. The base salary/media appearance pay structure is similar to what Joe Golding receives in his contract for men's basketball.

Buyout for Austin Peay

As part of his hire to UTEP, the university will be required to pay buyout expenses to Austin Peay State University for Walden for up to $151,239.92. All parties involved agreed to split the payments from UTEP to APSU into two calendar years, with UTEP paying over $76K in 2024 and an estimated $75K in 2025.

Speaking of buyouts, UTEP has a contingent buyout process should Walden ever get hired away from the university in the future. If he leaves after this season, a university must pay UTEP $2 million. If he leaves next season, they'd pay UTEP $1.5 million. Then, if Walden is hired during 2026 or 2027, the university must pay $750K or $250K, respectively.

Conversely, if things ever went south with Walden and the university wanted to terminate his contract without cause, UTEP would owe him 100% of the annual base salary through Dec. 31, 2028.

Benefits & Bonuses for Walden

Most of the benefits that Walden is receiving from UTEP were also given to previous coach Dana Dimel.

Some of the perks include a courtesy vehicle or vehicle stiped, percentage of net proceeds from summer camps, relocation expenses for up to $25K, country club membership and family travel for university events.

Walden is eligible for different bonuses if the program achieves the following:

Top 3 finish in CUSA
CUSA Champions
Bowl Game
Win over a Power 5 opponent
CUSA Coach of the Year
Academics (GPA, Graduation Rate & APR)
Season ticket sale growth from year to year

Walden's coaching pool

Per the contract agreement, Walden will have a budget of $1,568,250 for 10 full-time assistant coaches and a budget of $420,695 for support staff. This is a comparable number to the previous regime's coaching pool.

Here is the full contract for Scotty Walden:

Scotty Walden Contract