Lew Perkins believes the right man is running Kansas University’s basketball program.

“I do not know anybody (else) out there I’d want to be our head coach. He’s as good as it comes. He’s already proved it to me,” Perkins, KU’s athletic director, said Thursday of Bill Self.

Perkins proved talk isn’t cheap by reaching terms with the fourth-year KU coach on a new five-year deal worth $1.6 million per season.

Self’s old contract, which was to expire after the 2007-08 campaign, was worth about $1.1 million per annum.

“I want Bill to be our basketball coach. He stands for everything we want,” Perkins said. “I wanted to tie him up (through 2011), plus I think he deserved it. Our basketball program has a great deal of potential lying ahead of us. I’m big on continuity.”

Self – his new contract begins retroactively on April 1, 2006 and expires in March 2011 – receives an annual salary of $220,000 (up from $129,380) plus additional payments (production of radio/TV shows, Internet features, PR duties, endorsement of products) that bring his total compensation to just over $1.375 million per year.

A retention agreement will pay Self $225,000 annually (for five years) if he remains at KU through March 31, 2011. It’s the retention agreement (once called an annuity) factored in that brings Self’s contract to the $1.6 million-per-annum figure.

After next season, Self will receive a lump sum of $600,000 after taxes – a retention agreement negotiated when he first was hired by interim AD Drue Jennings.

“I’m excited for a lot of reasons,” Self said Thursday. “We (he and his family) love it here at KU, love the players in the program, love the direction we’re going, love the people we work with. There’s certainly been a strong commitment made to the entire athletic program. Basketball has benefited greatly from that. We are very excited hopefully being a part of it at least five more years.”

Self is so enthused about working at KU and for his current boss – Perkins – that his retention clause will change if Perkins leaves Mt. Oread.

“It’s really not complicated. The thing is … I am linked to Lew. If Lew is here and I leave, I get nothing (retention money). If Lew is not here, I am vested earlier (receiving the $225,000 bonus annually even if the contract isn’t completed). I wanted it that way.

“I want Lew to be my athletic director. I took the job here not having an athletic director. Now that we have an athletic director I want to make sure I know who my boss is going to be.”

KANSAS UNIVERSITY COACH BILL SELF gives a thumbs up following a victory over Kansas State. Self agreed to a five-year contract extension Thursday that takes him through the 2010-2011 season.

That is Perkins, who has always said he agreed with interim AD Jennings’ choice of Self to replace Roy Williams.

“He has been great for this place,” Self said of Perkins. “He has rippled waters from the first day he was hired in a lot of ways. People can look now and say, ‘Wow, there have been changes made.’ He has great vision for this place. He is tough enough to see through that vision.”

Perkins said he was flattered Self – who could earn as much as an additional $350,000 a year if performance incentives are met – wants to work for him.

“As long as I am athletic director here he wanted to be tied to me. I take it as a compliment,” Perkins said.

Self’s contract in terms of guaranteed money is second in the Big 12 behind Texas coach Rick Barnes, who earns $1.8 per annum.

“I look at the whole picture,” Perkins said. “Obviously we are not happy – he’ll tell you he’s not happy getting beat in the first round (of NCAAs the last two years). I think too much attention is based on how far you go in the NCAA. I’ve won national championships. I know what it takes to win national championships. A lot of it is luck, who you play, kids getting hurt.

“He’s won two conference championships, coach of the year in a very short period of time. Last year he didn’t have a senior class. This year no senior class. You don’t necessarily just reward people. That’s not what this is about. This is for the future of the program. As long as the NCAA guarantees we don’t play any teams that begin with ‘B’ we’ll be OK,” he quipped of Bradley and Bucknell.

Self was asked how he’d rate his tenure thus far.

“We haven’t won in the NCAA Tournament like we hoped,” he said. “If you told me before we got here we’d win the Big 12 two of three years and get second the other year I’d say it’s pretty good. If you tell me we lose in the first round twice, I’d say that’s very poor.

“I think our staff has done a really good job recruiting and we’ve got great kids in the program. I don’t need to give myself a grade.

“I know we’re trying hard. We’ve got all the pieces in place to move forward. The foundation is certainly set to be solid a very long time.”

Of the timing of the new contract, Self said: “I thought it was important we got it done before the season started (the parties reached agreement months ago). We knew it’d happen at the end of last year or beginning of the summer. It’s something that Lew and I have been talking about a while, since last season. It took the attorneys a little bit longer than maybe we anticipated getting it done.

“If I hadn’t re-signed now, we would have one year left. It’s something people would definitely talk about in recruiting. When you get to the last year of a contract there will always be questions: ‘Will he be back?’ Certainly with this those questions should never surface.”

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Just a coincidence: Perkins was asked if he felt he had to pay Self more than football coach Mark Mangino, who recently signed a contract for $1.5 million a year to Self’s $1.6 million.

“I don’t look at it that way. I did it also by comparing it throughout the country,” Perkins said of contracts of other top basketball coaches. For instance, Florida’s Billy Donovan makes $1.7 million; Marquette’s Tom Crean $1.65 million and Memphis’ John Calipari $1.6 million.

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Prestigious job: Perkins said though he wants to keep Self as long as he is AD: “Don’t be fooled. If Bill left for whatever reason, we’d get somebody really good. I happen to think he is as good as it comes.”

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Sore knee: KU junior center Sasha Kaun says he’s not feeling pain, but soreness in his right knee. “I trust the doctors. They say it’s normal. I’m looking forward to getting stronger every day and playing better every day,” Kaun said.

“Structurally he’s doing great,” Self said. “We may want to back off a little bit until the pain subsides.”

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Butler returns for DePaul: The Jayhawks will meet DePaul at 1 p.m. Saturday, at Allstate Arena in suburban Chicago. DePaul, 2-4, received a reinforcement on Thursday when senior center Keith Butler was added to the team. Butler, a 7-foot-1, 255-pounder, had missed the first six games because of a violation of team policy. “He’s a big-time shot blocker, a transfer from Temple,” Self said.”

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Tickets available: Tickets remain available at KU’s ticket office for the KU-Toledo game set for Dec. 9 at Kemper Arena.

By Comparision

Here’s a list of guaranteed money per year in contracts of Big 12 coaches, followed by some other well known coaches around the country. The totals are as printed in published reports from various media publications:

Big 12

Rick Barnes, Texas, $1.8 million; Bill Self, Kansas, $1.6 million; Bob Knight, Texas Tech, $1.1 million; Mike Anderson, Missouri, $850,000; Bob Huggins, Kansas State, $800,000; Billy Gillispie, Texas A&M, $800,000; Sean Sutton, Oklahoma State, $750,000; Ricardo Patton, Colorado, $700,000; Doc Sadler, Nebraska, $700,000; Greg McDermott, Iowa State, $650,000; Jeff Capel, Oklahoma, $650,000; Scott Drew, Baylor, private school, no information available.

OTHERS

Tubby Smith, Kentucky, $2.45 million; Billy Donovan, Florida, $1.7 million; Tom Crean, Marquette, $1.65 million; John Calipari, Memphis, $1.6 million; Kelvin Sampson, Indiana, $1.5 million; Mike Krzyzewski, Duke, $1.48 million; Rick Pitino, Louisville, $1.4 million; Roy Williams, North Carolina, $1.6 million; Herb Sendek, Arizona State, $1.3 million; Jay Wright, Villanova, $1 million; Ben Howland, UCLA, $1 million; Jamie Dixon, Pittsburgh, $900,000; Mark Turgeon, Wichita State, $750,000; Dana Altman, Creighton, $700,000.

Self contract at a glance

Five years, approximately $1.6 million per year

Base salary: $220,000. Professional services: $931,400 from 2006-08 and $1,155,700 from 2008-11. Total: $1,375,700. Retention agreement pays Self $225,000 per year if he completes the contract, pushing the contract to $1.6 million annually.

Benefits: Use of two automobiles, term life insurance policy of $2 million, reasonable travel expenses of wife and children attending games outside of Lawrence, use of facilities for summer camps, athletic department receives 2 percent of net revenues; 10 tickets to each home game and six to each road game, use of scholarship suite at football stadium, membership at Alvamar and Lawrence Country Club and all green fees.

Incentives: Final Four: $100,000. NCAA title: $200,000. Big 12 regular-season title: $50,000. Big 12 Tournament title: $25,000. AP coach of the year: $50,000. Contract can be terminated if KU is found guilty of “significant or repetitive violations of NCAA regulations.”