Kentucky rewards recruiting coordinator Marrow for his loyalty with big pay raise
Kentucky released details Thursday of its new multiyear contract with Vince Marrow, and the Cats' recruiting coordinator, who declined a job offer at Michigan to stay in Lexington, got a significant pay increase for his loyalty.
When Marrow arrived at UK to join new head coach Mark Stoops, he made $175,000 a year, which increased to $275,000 last season after he was named recruiting coordinator.
By the final year of his newest contract, Marrow will be making $400,000 a season.
The steppingstone deal pays Marrow $350,000 a year through June 30, 2016, then his salary increases to $375,000 through 2017 and $400,000 through 2018.
All other provisions, bonuses and incentives in Marrow's original deal remained intact.
Since 2002, Kentucky's highest Rivals.com ranking before Stoops was No. 36 (in 2006). The average recruiting class ranking in the other 10 years was 60.5.
With Marrow, UK's classes were rated No. 29 in 2013 and No. 17 in 2014, the highest-ever rating for a UK class since recruiting rankings have been utilized.
At a news conference Wednesday, Marrow seemed confident his staying at Kentucky would give the Cats' next recruiting class an even bigger bump.
"It's just a situation of where I know with me staying here, a lot of them guys were very fired up to see that," he said. "So we'll see where we're gonna finish out at. I feel pretty good where we're finishing at, though. It's gonna be pretty good."
Marrow, a longtime friend of Stoops from their playing days at Cardinal Mooney High School in Ohio, has been a big part of Kentucky's Ohio invasion, helping the Cats land 21 recruits from there during Stoops' first three classes.
Nine of those players have been four-star recruits.
It's been hard to miss UK's impact in the state since Stoops' arrival at Kentucky.
"ESPN noticed it, other major networks noticed it, the damage we're doing in Ohio," Marrow said. "But it's always going to be a major part: just keeping that foothold there."
Marrow is the highest-paid assistant behind new offensive coordinator Shannon Dawson ($550,000) and defensive coordinator D.J. Eliot ($500,000).
Negotiations are in the works for new deals for assistants, Stoops said shortly after receiving his raise at the end of October.
■ The contract for Dawson also was made public Thursday, and it contained no surprises. His deal, which he signed Dec. 19, is through June 30, 2018, and pays the former West Virginia offensive coordinator $550,000 a season.
This story was originally published January 8, 2015 at 6:35 PM with the headline "Kentucky rewards recruiting coordinator Marrow for his loyalty with big pay raise."