Sports: Leavitt expected to stay on at USF

Leavitt expected to stay on at USF

A news conference with top officials is set for 11 a.m. today.

By PETE YOUNG, Times Staff Writer

After another day of widespread reports and runaway speculation about the Alabama coaching search, South Florida coach Jim Leavitt is expected to sign a new contract.

With the Bulls. Perhaps today.

Leavitt, USF president Judy Genshaft and athletic director Lee Roy Selmon will hold a news conference at 11 a.m. at the Alumni Center on campus. The three met for a few hours Wednesday afternoon and discussed renegotiating Leavitt's contract, one day after Leavitt had fueled speculation he was leaving USF by meeting with Alabama athletic director Mal Moore in Tampa to discuss the Crimson Tide opening.

Meanwhile, several media outlets in Alabama are reporting the Crimson Tide is focusing on New Orleans Saints assistant Mike Riley, an Alabama graduate, as the top choice to replace Dennis Franchione. The Mobile Register is reporting that Leavitt remained the No. 2 choice even after the announcement of the USF news conference.

Leavitt, who is 44-22 in six seasons at USF, including 9-2 this season, did not speak with the media Wednesday. However, he left a trail indicating he would remain at USF in conversations with players and recruits.

"I called him to ask about it earlier (Wednesday). He told me he was staying here, he said they were working on a contract," USF safety Kevin Verpaele said. "I'm pretty confident he'll be coming back based on all of the stuff he tells us."

Leavitt, 46, said in a statement he "met with the president and Lee Roy Selmon today, and they had discussions" about his contract.

Leavitt earned approximately $200,000 in total compensation this year and $140,000 in base salary, which escalates to $220,000 in 2005, the contract's final year. The new deal is expected to be for several additional years and bring Leavitt's income closer to the Division I-A average.

University spokesman Michael Reich said Genshaft would not talk to the media Wednesday but issued a statement: "If Jim Leavitt leaves (USF), it won't be because Judy Genshaft and Lee Roy Selmon didn't try to keep him here."

In January, after Leavitt went to Bloomington, Ind., to interview for the Indiana job, Genshaft and Selmon told the Times Leavitt's contract would be renegotiated, but it has not been. Intermittent talks resumed about two weeks ago.

It appears they succeeded Wednesday, but not until Leavitt had become a leading candidate at Alabama, one of the nation's highest-profile and highest-paying jobs. Leavitt, a St. Petersburg native, also has been linked to other coaching vacancies, including at Michigan State and Kentucky. His affinity for warm weather and beaches could make a place such as UCLA, which fired Bob Toledo, an attractive option. Alabama is expected to offer its next coach an annual compensation package of about $1-million. Franchione earned $1.1-million a year before leaving last week for Texas A&M after two seasons, citing frustration over Alabama's probation. The Tide must cut 21 scholarships from 2002-04 and is ineligible for a bowl this season and next.

Leavitt and his staff have been on the recruiting trail through a futile bowl wait, his contract renegotiation and his dalliance with Alabama. Among the top prospects the Bulls are courting is Plant quarterback Stephen Reaves.

"I talked to him Tuesday night; he made things clear he wasn't going anywhere," Reaves said. Leavitt has said he is looking forward to signing his best recruiting class in February with help from a bolstered portfolio: The Bulls have a 17-5 record in their first two Division I-A seasons, they will join Conference USA next season, and they are expected to break ground in January on an $18-million athletic facility.

Leavitt recently visited his alma mater, Dixie Hollins, to recruit running back/track star Kevin Marion and lineman Curtis Chance. Dixie coach Mike Morey said Leavitt told them, "There are a lot of rumors going on about where I'm going, but I'm staying here. I have lots of family here, and this is the perfect situation for me."

-- Staff writer Bob Putnam contributed to this report.