What Happens to David Marsh if Teri McKeever Is Reinstated at Cal?

Update: after original publication of this article, Cal provided the contract for assistant coach Jesse Moore. That information has been incorporated into the article below.

David Marsh’s contract at Cal includes a provision that would terminate the agreement if suspended women’s head swimming & diving coach Teri McKeever were to return to the program.

The University of California, Berkeley has provided the current contracts for the school’s five swimming & diving coaches to SwimSwam two months after the request was made. The school declined to share the new contract of head coach Dave Durden, who for the first time this season is leading the men’s and women’s swimming & diving programs, saying that has not been fully executed.

After women’s head coach Teri McKeever was put on a leave of absence over the summer following allegations from current and former swimmers of verbal and emotional abuse, the school made men’s head coach Dave Durden the nominal head coach of both programs, and brought in veteran NCAA coach Dave Marsh to support him as the associate head coach of the women’s program. Among other things, Marsh was the architect of the Auburn dynasty of the 1990s and 2000s, where he led the men’s team to seven NCAA titles and the women’s team to five.

Marsh is at Cal on a one-year contract, as are all of Cal’s assistant coaches, with one caveat clause.

The term of the Contract begins on August 1, 2022, and terminates on July 31, 2023 (or upon return if Teri McKeever as coach of Women’s Swimming & Diving, whichever is earlier).

That clause protects the school from a situation where the result of the independent investigation acquits McKeever and she is reinstated as head coach, which would give the team too many coaches.

It is unlikely that if McKeever were acquitted in the investigation that she would return to lead the program, however. Usually in those scenarios, a buyout for the remainder of the contract is negotiated instead and the parties part ways.

Marsh is receiving a base salary of $120,000, making him the highest-paid of the team’s assistants, plus a signing bonus of $8,400. He also receives bonuses based on the performance of the women’s team:

• Per individual NCAA, American, or World Record established – $2,000
• Team wins conference championships – $2,500
• Per individual or relay NCAA title – $1,500
• Team finishes top 8 at NCAA Championship – $3,750
• Team finishes top 4 at NCAA Championship – $6,000
• Team wins NCAA Championship – $7,500

Unlike what we see at other schools, Cal structures its coaches’ incentive programs to favor performance at the NCAA Championships rather than conference meets.

The team’s new men’s and women’s assistants, Matt Bowe and Jesse Moore respectively, are being paid $91,800. They  also have incentive structure, though it is less than Marsh, who has a higher title than the two assistants. The net result will likely be more money for Bowe than Moore, as the defending NCAA men’s champions from Cal are more likely to hit the benchmarks than are the women:

• Per individual NCAA, American, or World Record established – $1,000
• Team wins conference championships – $1,500
• Per individual or relay NCAA title – $1,000
• Team finishes top 8 at NCAA Championship – $2,500
• Team finishes top 4 at NCAA Championship – $4,000
• Team wins NCAA Championship – $5,000

Moore received a $20,000 signing bonus, plus a maximum reimbursement for moving costs of $6,424. Bowe received a $7,000 signing bonus and the same moving expenses, but also receives a $20,000 annual stipend for athletic equipment and apparel contract payments.

Head diving coach Pei Lin is also new and has a three year contract worth $85,000 per year, plus incentives based on both the performance both of her divers and the program overall.

Cal currently has 5 announced paid coaches on staff, including Lin, which is 1 fewer than the maximum allowed for a combined program.

Dave Durden‘s prior contract (which is technically still in effect) offers him $270,000 in base salary this season, though that number will presumably increase with his new responsibilities. McKeever’s contract has a base salary of $242,500 for the current season.

The school has not provided any updates to the investigation of allegations against McKeever that began in May, more than five months ago.

The Cal women are next in action against UC San Diego on November 4. The same day, the Cal men will race their annual triple distance meet against Stanford.