Home » Uncategorized » Urban Meyer rewarded with bonus for Ohio State's top-3 finish
Urban Meyer rewarded with bonus for Ohio State's top-3 finish
By Michael Periatt and Andrew Holleran: periatt.1@osu.edu and holleran.9@osu.edu	January 7, 2013	0
Daniel Chi / Asst. photo editor
The Ohio State football team wasn't able to accomplish anything this bowl season due to a postseason ban, but first-year coach Urban Meyer profited anyway.
OSU, which finished the regular season with a 12-0 record, was ranked No. 3 in the final Associated Press top 25 poll, released early Tuesday morning following the BCS National Championship.
Meyer, who makes $4 million annually, received a $150,000 bonus for finishing in the top three, Jerry Emig, an OSU spokesman, confirmed to The Lantern. Finishing anywhere from No. 3 through No. 10 was worth $150,000 to the Buckeye coach based on his amended contract, which came out following OSU receiving a postseason ban in December 2011. Meyer would have made a $250,000 bonus if OSU would have finished No. 1 or No. 2. Emig could not immediately provide if any other OSU coaches got bonuses.
Finishing ahead of OSU in the poll were No. 1 Alabama, which defeated Notre Dame, 42-14, in the national championship game in Miami Monday evening, and No. 2 Oregon, which beat Kansas State, 35-17, in the Fiesta Bowl.
The Buckeyes, the lone undefeated team in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS), finished 173 points behind the Crimson Tide and 56 points behind the Ducks. Notre Dame dropped to No. 4 following its blowout loss.
OSU, which concluded its season with a 26-21 victory against Michigan Nov. 24, is the first team to go undefeated and finish outside of the top two of the AP poll since 2009 when Boise Swtate went 14-0 and finished No. 4.
The No. 3 ranking represents the 22nd time in OSU history that a Buckeyes' football team has finished in the top five of the AP poll and the 33rd time they have finished in the top 10. Only 11 teams have finished higher in the poll than the 2012 team.
Other Big Ten teams in the poll are Northwestern at No. 17, Michigan at No. 24 and Nebraska at No. 25.
OSU is projected as an early contender for next season's national championship. ESPN.com's Mark Schlabach ranks the Buckeyes No. 4 in his "Early 2013 Top 25."
Michael Periatt and Andrew Holleran
Previous: December 5, 2012
Next: Ohio State's poise against Purdue could carry over