MU gives Washington OK to talk with Snyder

COLUMBIA, Mo. -- Missouri gave Washington permission to talk with Quin Snyder about the Huskies' vacant head coaching job, a Tigers spokesman said Monday.

Missouri sports information director Chad Moller said Washington officials contacted Tigers athletic director Mike Alden during the weekend.

Moller said Alden gave his permission for the Huskies to approach Snyder, who is in his third year at Missouri and led the Tigers to the NCAA West Regional final. Missouri lost to Oklahoma 81-75 on Saturday.

Moller said Snyder and Alden were unavailable for comment Monday about the coach's future at Missouri. Four years remain on Snyder's five-year contract, which was re-negotiated last summer to give him more money.

Snyder is a native of Mercer Island, Wash., and has family and friends in the area.

His Missouri contract was revised in July and runs through the 2005-2006 season, but it includes a buyout option that would allow Snyder to leave in exchange for a payment equaling two years of his $185,000 base salary. Accordingly, it would cost at least $370,000 to buy out Snyder's contract, Marvin Wright, general counsel for the University of Missouri system, said Monday.

Snyder's total compensation can run to more than $1 million under the contract.

For example, the contract gave him a $15,000 bonus for reaching the NCAA Tournament and another $30,000 for joining the tournament's Sweet 16. A national championship nets Snyder a $250,000 bonus from Missouri.

Snyder told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch on Sunday that he had no plans to leave Missouri but was not promising he would stay in Columbia.

"It's always been my policy," Snyder said. "No promises."

Jim Daves, sports information director at Washington, said in a telephone interview that the school was not discussing its search for a successor to Bob Bender, who was fired last week after nine seasons.

The Huskies had back-to-back 20-loss seasons for the first time in the school's history before finishing 11-18 and eighth in the Pac-10 this season.

Daves said Washington's athletic director, Barbara Hedges, was out of state at a school fund-raiser and unavailable for comment.

"We are not commenting on any athletic directors or coaches that we are talking to," Daves said. "When Mrs. Hedges runs these searches, she does them quietly."

Gonzaga athletic director Mike Roth said Sunday that Hedges also contacted him over the weekend to ask permission to talk with Bulldogs coach Mark Few, and he agreed.

Sports stories and columns have suggested that Snyder's wife, Helen, is unhappy in Columbia, and that the coach was upset about harsh criticism he received when the Tigers were in a mid-season slump.

Missouri fans said they wanted Snyder to stay.

Lee Brownfield, 22, a veterinary student, said Snyder accomplished more in his first three years than a similar stretch for the coach he succeeded, three-decade veteran Norm Stewart.

"Norm couldn't get into the heads of the young players. I believe Quin is able to relate better and I believe they play harder for him," Brownfield said.

Matt Reichers, 24, of Washington, Mo., said he hoped Snyder would stay "because he has too much invested with this young team and he needs to be there to lead them."

Most of Snyder's squad is expected to return next season.

------

On the Net:

Missouri basketball: www.mutigers.com