Alden's contract extended

By Ryan Martin

Published Sept. 28, 2007

Athletic Director Mike Alden, one of MU's longest-serving athletic directors, has signed a two-year contract extension with the university. The contract extension will keep him at MU through the end of the 2012 academic year.

On Sept. 1, Alden's guaranteed salary increased by $70,000. His salary now totals $525,000 annually, according to a Sept. 24 athletic department news release.

The contract allows for reevaluation once each year for the remainder of the deal. This review could potentially add more incentives to his salary.

"He must be doing something right," wrestling coach Brian Smith said. "He runs a really good ship."

Alden could not be reached for comment.

Smith said Alden's commitment to MU athletics has created a fan base across the state, and this fan base is generating more revenue for the program.

Alden has raised the athletic department's annual operating budget by $30.2 million since he was hired in 1998, according to the department's Web site.

Smith said the wrestling program had an average of 3,000 in attendance for each match last year. This attendance helps run the facilities and increases the resources put into the athletic department, Smith said.

During Alden's tenure, the athletics department constructed the $75 million Mizzou Arena, the $16 million Mizzou Athletics Training Complex and the $11 million Mizzou Aquatics Center.

The athletic department's Web site outlines several other improvements that have been made to the athletic facilities during Alden's time at MU, including renovations to the University Field and Hearnes Center and a new turf playing surface at Memorial Stadium's Faurot Field.

When both basketball programs moved to the new arena, other sports programs were given more space in the Hearnes Center. Consequently, the wrestling, volleyball and gymnastics programs have made competitive improvements over the past few years, Smith said.

"When recruits come in, they say we have one of the best wrestling facilities in the nation," Smith said. "He has a commitment to every sport, not just the money-generating sports like football and basketball."

The Web site also outlines the academic and competitive success under Alden. Academically, MU has had the best progress rates in the Big 12 for the past two years.

Under Alden, the football team has been to three bowl games in the past four years, and, last year, 16 out of 20 athletic programs qualified for postseason play, including the wrestling team, who finished third in the NCAA Division I championships.

The Student Athlete Advisory Committee was also been created during Alden's time. The committee, which consists of two student athletes from every sport, meets monthly with Alden to discuss issues their respective teams are dealing with. The committee gives voice to the players and creates community among the entire department, Smith said.

At the NCAA championships last year, the wrestling team asked Alden to join the team on stage for the team trophy photograph.

"He's an athlete's A.D.," Smith said.

Alden held his position through the firing of Quin Snyder in February 2006. According to a report released in March 2006, Snyder knew for more than a year that he would be fired if conditions were not met and resigned knowing the conditions would not be met. Controversy surrounded questions of whether Alden acted unprofessionally by using an assistant athletic director as a liaison to tell Snyder he'd be dismissed days before his resignation.

Alden later apologized for the confusion surrounding the dismissal.

Alden's tenure also saw MU basketball player Ricky Clemons' arrest and conviction for misdemeanor charges of third-degree assault and false imprisonment.