"Shannon Miller built the University of Minnesota Duluth's hockey program and turned it into a powerhouse. With five NCAA championships under her belt the last thing she expected was to be let go.
"I'm heartbroken and I'm so disappointed that they would show me so much disrespect," Miller said.
UMD Athletic Director Josh Berlo said hard times forced them to make a hard decision. The University of Minnesota Duluth faces a $4.5 million dollar deficit.
"We're at a point where we are not able to sustain the highest paid coach in Division I hockey's salary," Berlo said
Miller's base salary this season is $215,000. Miller said she would have taken a pay cut but was never given a choice.
The Bulldog's men's head hockey coach Scott Sandelin makes $265,000. Berlo wouldn't say if Sandelin will face a pay cut but did say the university reviews all contracts as they reach an end." (emphasis added)Now, here I want to note that, oftentimes, in stories about women's sports, qualifiers are usually used to distinguish male from female athletes and coaches.
"The winningest coach in (women's) NCAA." "The fastest (female) runner." "The best (female) player."
Here, however, the UMD Athletic Director says that the female coach he fired was the highest paid coach in Division I hockey. Yet, a mere two sentences later we learn that the woman in question, who has more wins, championships, and longevity at the college, still made significantly less than the men's hockey coach.
This situation is not unusual. It's just, of course, notable that her lower salary was deemed to be too high to allow her to continue on in her position, despite her many accomplishments.
Like I said yesterday, just another day in men being paid more than equally (or more) talented women.
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