Eastern Director of Athletics Rich McDuffie is remaining at Eastern this year after receiving a two-year contract extension worth an extra $11,000 per year from interim President Lou Hencken, despite the budget difficulties preventing many raises around campus.

Under his new contract, McDuffie will receive $120,000 per year, he said, compared to the old contract which paid him $109,000 per year.

McDuffie also received a salary increase last year, just as the other faculty at Eastern did, Hencken said, but neither were sure how much the raise was.

The additional spending for McDuffie’s salary is coming from revenue earned at summer athletic conferences and not from state tax or tuition dollars, which pay for most salaries on campus, Hencken said. If funding came from those sources, Hencken assured he would have “absolutely not” given McDuffie a raise.

“No money was put in the budget for (salary) increases, so it’s difficult,” he added, “But it’s not uncommon for universities to pay for salaries such as this from sources like these.”

When Hencken was vice president for student affairs, the director of athletics position reported to the student affairs office. When Hencken moved to the president’s office last year, so did the director of athletics position, he said. The Faculty Senate supported the move, Hencken said, giving him the sole decision to give McDuffie a raise.

“The president makes all the decisions,” he said of the decision to increase McDuffie’s salary. “The vice presidents give recommendations, but the president makes the final decision.”

On the position move from the student affair’s office to the president’s office, Hencken, a former college referee, said: “I have a pretty good handle on athletics. I wanted it to report to me.”

McDuffie, whose contract was expected to expire July 1, was a finalist in a search for a director of athletics at Ball State University in Muncie, Ind. this summer. He eventually withdrew his name from the search because he didn’t want to relocate.

But concern of his departure led Hencken to consider the raise.

“A number of Panther Club members and coaches approached me with fear of losing McDuffie,” Hencken said, explaining the move was in “the university’s best interest.”

Before McDuffie came to Eastern five years ago, the Panther Club, which raises money for athletics, received approximately $150,000 per year from donors, Hencken said. Now the club receives $600,000 per year, a $450,000 increase, largely due to McDuffie’s efforts and success cultivating new donors, he added.

Also, Hencken continued, advancements in athletics since McDuffie took control have been major.

“Look at the big picture,” Hencken said on the poor condition of the state’s budget. “Would it be beneficial for the university to go through a search process at this time?”

McDuffie has been at the helm of Eastern’s athletics for six years and said he hopes to remain at Eastern when his contract expires in two years.