Arizona State hoping to outbid UH for Murphy
By Ferd Lewis
Advertiser Staff Writer
Arizona State has upped the ante on the Pat Murphy sweepstakes to the point where the University of Hawai'i may soon be forced to look elsewhere to fill its baseball head coaching vacancy.
An ASU spokesman said the school has called a press conference for Tuesday to announce whether Murphy will leave for UH or return to coach the Sun Devils for a seventh season, but the issue may be moot by then.
Murphy met with ASU athletic director Gene Smith Wednesday and emerged with an offer that would reportedly make him one of the three highest-paid college baseball coaches in the country.
People familiar with the proposal say the value of the entire package would be more than $275,000, including base salary, incentives, shoe and bat contracts. Murphy's current contract pays a base salary of $97,850 and provides for additional income of $32,960 for a total of $130,810 plus incentives and outside endorsements, according to an ASU official.
UH is believed to be offering in the $135,000-$150,000 range plus whatever the coach can secure in outside bat and shoe deals.
Murphy yesterday declined to discuss the ASU offer other than to say, "the decision will not be based upon who offers the most money. It will be what is best for me and my family, though, obviously, the finances have to be close."
With a $16 million budget, it is unlikely UH has the resources to compete with the Sun Devils, whose budget is listed at $28.3 million.
Hugh Yoshida, UH athletic director, declined comment.
In the event UH shifts its search elsewhere, Georgia Tech assistant coach Mike Trapasso is expected to be on deck. Baseball America rated Trapasso the top head coaching prospect in the country among current assistant coaches and he made a very favorable impression on several members of UH's search committee.
Yoshida has as additional options several so-called "mystery" candidates who are currently Division I coaches who have participated in the NCAA Tournament, some of whom became available after the search committee convened.
The 42-year-old Murphy, who was once married to a woman from Hawai'i, said he has thought about someday coaching here ever since bringing a Notre Dame team to play UH at Rainbow Stadium in 1990. "Hawaii'i is my dream job," Murphy said yesterday. "If I ever left ASU, it would be for Hawai'i. I'm not looking at any other jobs."
Murphy said, "I have a lot of respect for Les Murakami and the program he built. It is his program and I can never make the impact he has. It will always be his program."
An ASU spokesman declined to discuss the specifics of Murphy's meeting with Smith, who is out of town, or put a percentage on the chances he will remain a Sun Devil. This comes amid media speculation in Phoenix that Murphy is more inclined to stay.
A column in the Arizona Republic speculated, "Though it is far from official, it is starting to look like Pat Murphy will stick around the ASU baseball program."
Murphy said his current priority is helping his players prepare for next week's Major League Draft. "My responsibility right now is to do what's right for our student-athletes."
Murphy has led the Sun Devils to four NCAA Tournament appearances in five years, including one trip to Omaha, site of the College World Series.
He is 269-143-1 in seven seasons at ASU and 642-314-4 in 17 seasons as a college coach covering stops at ASU, Notre Dame, Claremont-Mudd Scripps and Maryville (Tenn.).
