photo by: Richard Gwin

KU baseball coach Ritch Price talks about this year's team as a few team members listen in as KU held its media day on Wednesday, Feb. 17, 2016.

For the second year in a row, Kansas University’s baseball team will be checking in uniforms and getting an early start to summer while the rest of the Big 12 Conference teams do battle this week in Oklahoma City for the conference crown.

But that fact has not soured KU athletic director Sheahon Zenger’s opinion of the man in charge of the Kansas program.

In an interview with the Journal-World this weekend, Zenger expressed confidence in coach Ritch Price’s ability to lead the Jayhawks on the baseball diamond and said, without hesitation, that Price would return in 2017.

“We’re committed to Ritch much in the same way that he is committed to us and this university,” Zenger told the Journal-World.

Returning for his 15th season at Kansas puts Price in position to cash in on at least $400,000 in the next year. According to Zenger, Price’s haul more than likely will wind up being a $500,000 bonus, the amount of the retention payment outlined in Price’s contract, which Price will earn if he is retained past June 30, 2017. The $400,000 figure would be the amount owed to Price if he were fired without cause before that date.

Zenger said Price’s contract, initially written and signed by former KU AD Lew Perkins, continually rolls over and gives the veteran skipper a five-year deal at all times. Price’s buyout is $100,000 per completed year during each five-year retention term.

Price’s base salary puts him in the bottom third among Big 12 baseball coaches, and Zenger said he interpreted that the contract was drawn up to protect both sides and reward Price for his loyalty and continued commitment to KU. The $500,000 retention bonus is merely a way to backload the money paid to Price and, even at that, Zenger said spreading that amount over five years still would only put Price in the middle of the pack among Big 12 baseball coaches.

Despite helping outline the specifics of Price’s contract, Zenger made it clear money had little to do with his decision to bring Price back, a decision that really took next to no time to reach.

“He’s not just a quality coach. He’s also highly respected within our athletic department and university community, and what people in Lawrence might not know is that he also is regarded as a leader nationally among baseball coaches and always has represented us well in that capacity,” Zenger said. “He’s a man of high integrity and values, and his team reflects that on a daily basis.”

In 2015, Price, who has led KU to three NCAA regional appearances, became just the fourth baseball coach in Big 12 history to reach the 400-win mark with one program. But Zenger said Price’s contributions to KU and his value for the university go well beyond wins and losses, with Price doing much of the fund-raising to ensure that Hoglund Ballpark and the surrounding facilities continue to improve and remain first-class.

Picked seventh in the Big 12 preseason poll, Price’s Jayhawks failed to reach even that finish, largely because of injuries to key pitchers, two of whom were projected to be weekend starters. Positioned offensively to compete with any team in the conference and perhaps challenge for another top-three finish — Price led the Jayhawks to a program-best third-place Big 12 finish in 2014 — KU could not overcome its issues on the mound and finished the season 20-35-1 overall and 6-17 in Big 12 play, including five consecutive conference losses to end the season.

“I know coach Price and the team had higher expectations this year,” Zenger said. “And they certainly had the hitting and fielding capacity to achieve what they wanted to achieve. But to lose five of your top pitchers just decimates your ability to control the game from the mound.”

Zenger said his sympathetic tone should not be confused for acceptance.

“All of our coaches are fully aware of the expectations that we have competitively for our department and for each sport,” he said. “And Ritch is often a leader of those conversations, so I know the pain that he has personally gone through because of how this season played out.

“We all expect him to rebound next year and for years to come.”