Terms of Lonnie Greene’s new contract revealed. Here’s what UK track coach gets.
Lonnie Greene has Kentucky’s cross country and track and field programs among the nation’s best, and he’s been rewarded for that work with a new contract.
Initially hired as the UK cross country and track and field head coach in summer 2018, Greene has now had his contract reworked twice with UK.
Greene’s newest contract to remain as UK head coach was signed in late May, and features a significant upgrade in salary, as well as noteworthy retention bonuses designed to keep Greene in Lexington.
On the heels of a podium finish for the UK women’s team at last weekend’s NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships in Oregon — highlighted by another record-setting performance by Abby Steiner — here’s a look at Greene’s new contract with Kentucky, and how it compares to his previous contract.
Length
Previous: Greene’s original contract with Kentucky from July 2018 was reworked in March 2021.
It became a five-year contract that ran from July 2020 through June 2025.
New: Greene’s new contract with Kentucky will take effect July 1, 2022, and last for five years, ending on June 30, 2027.
Greene’s previous contract remains in effect through the end of June 2022.
Money
Previous: Greene’s previous five-year contract with UK that ran from 2020 through 2025 featured the following base salary amounts.
▪ From July 1, 2020, through June 30, 2021, Greene received $275,000.
▪ From July 1, 2021, through June 30, 2022, Greene will receive $295,000.
Greene’s new contract takes effect July 1, 2022, and the numbers listed below reflect what his previous contract would have paid.
▪ From July 1, 2022, through June 30, 2023, Greene was due to receive $305,000.
▪ From July 1, 2023, through June 30, 2024, Greene was due to receive $325,000.
▪ From July 1, 2024, through June 30, 2025, Greene was due to receive $345,000.
Additionally, Greene was due to receive $15,000 each contract year from Kentucky’s multi-media deals and endorsements.
New: Greene’s upcoming five-year contract with UK that will run from 2022 through 2027 will feature the following base salary amounts.
▪ From July 1, 2022, through June 30, 2023, Greene will receive $335,000.
▪ From July 1, 2023, through June 30, 2024, Greene will receive $360,000.
▪ From July 1, 2024, through June 30, 2025, Greene will receive $385,000.
▪ From July 1, 2025, through June 30, 2026, Greene will receive $410,000.
▪ From July 1, 2026, through June 30, 2027, Greene will receive $435,000.
Greene will still receive $15,000 each contract year from Kentucky’s multi-media deals and endorsements.
A new aspect of Greene’s updated contract is a retention compensation section that will pay Greene money for each year that he remains the UK cross country and track and field head coach.
▪ If Greene is still the head coach on August 1, 2023, he will be paid $50,000.
▪ If Greene is still the head coach on August 1, 2024, he will be paid $50,000.
▪ If Greene is still the head coach on August 1, 2025, he will be paid $75,000.
▪ If Greene is still the head coach on August 1, 2026, he will be paid $75,000.
▪ If Greene is still the head coach on June 30, 2027, he will be paid $100,000.
Incentives
The incentives — which cover both academic and performance benchmarks — that were in place in Greene’s previous contract will remain the same for his new contract.
▪ For these four team sports overseen by Greene — men’s cross country, women’s cross country, men’s track and field and women’s track and field — Greene will receive $5,000 if the sport achieves a .985 Academic Progress Rate.
▪ The incentive payments for academic achievements are cumulative, but they will be paid only if Greene is still employed at UK in the fall semester following the APR announcement.
▪ For each of these four team sports that achieve a top-10 ranking as announced by the NCAA, Greene will receive $15,000.
▪ For on-track NCAA and SEC performances, the potential incentive compensation for Greene covers six different team sports: Men’s cross country, women’s cross country, men’s indoor track, women’s indoor track, men’s outdoor track and women’s outdoor track.
▪ For each sport that wins an NCAA national title, Greene will receive $25,000.
▪ For each sport that doesn’t win an NCAA national title, but finishes the NCAA meet in the top four, Greene will receive $18,000.
▪ For each sport that doesn’t win an NCAA national title, but finishes the NCAA meet in the top 10, Greene will receive $12,000.
▪ For each sport that doesn’t win an NCAA national title, but finishes the NCAA meet in the top 25, Greene will receive $6,000.
▪ These performance incentives for the six team sports are cumulative, but the total cumulative compensation for one contract year can’t exceed $150,000.
▪ For each of these six team sports that wins an SEC championship, Greene will receive $12,500.
