Destination of Davis’ $5,000 donation in limbo
Central Michigan head coach Keno Davis talks to the referee on Feb. 27 at McGuirk Arena.
With Central Michigan men’s basketball's 20th win in the 2017-18 season on March 12 against Fort Wayne, head coach Keno Davis earned a $5,000 bonus, according to his contract.
The CMU athletic department reported the money would go back to the university.
“I don’t (know where the money’s going),” Davis said. “I haven’t had that conversation with our administration.”
At the end of the regular season, the Chippewas (21-14) owned 18 wins, but a first-round victory in the Mid-American Conference Tournament pushed Davis’ squad to 19.
“When we were talking with a couple weeks left in the season, we got calls about interest in Central Michigan playing in the CIT,” Davis said. “I was aware playing in the postseason, you don’t want that to be a financial burden. We made sure that it wasn’t and one of those things was the bonus.”
Hosting the CIT costs $38,500 per game, but CMU has played all away games. According to a Forbes report, the hosting cost is to reimburse the away team's expenses for up to 22 members. This includes air, bussing, hotels and food for the team — regardless of the cost.
The Chippewas were going to play their second game of the tournament at McGuirk Arena, but university events would not let the team play at home, a source told Central Michigan Life.
Davis said he wanted to help the program save money financially by not accepting his bonus and donating it back to the university.
“I didn’t want the bonus to prohibit us from playing,” Davis said. “I wanted that to go to something else other than my pocket. I didn’t want to play in the CIT to play in the bonus. That wasn’t ever the idea of having a bonus.”
This season, Davis also secured a bonus of $5,000 by producing a winning season in Mount Pleasant.
