Jul. 25—GRAND FORKS — New UND head hockey coach Dane Jackson will make considerably less money than his predecessor, Brad Berry.
But UND athletic director Bill Chaves left an avenue in Jackson’s five-year contract for the new coach to catch up: Win big in the NCAA tournament.
Jackson’s base salary this season is $400,000. His pay could reach $510,000 if he hits all seven bonuses.
Berry, who was let go at the end of last season, was scheduled to make $493,500 in base salary this season with the potential to hit $715,575 by maxing out on bonuses. Berry had 21 bonuses capped at 45% of his base salary.
UND still owes Berry his base salary this season, the final year of his contract.
While Chaves whittled down the bonuses, Jackson’s contract has a clause that could quickly accelerate his base salary if UND wins big in the postseason.
Jackson’s base salary increases annually by $15,000. But a trip to the NCAA Frozen Four adds $25,000 to the base salary. An NCAA national championship adds $50,000. Those figures carry through the remainder of the contract. They duplicate every additional time Jackson achieves them.
Jackson’s contract and bonus structure show Chaves’ emphasis on winning in the NCAA tournament.
Berry’s teams dominated the National Collegiate Hockey Conference, winning five Penrose Cups in his 10 years at the helm. But the Fighting Hawks haven’t been to the NCAA Frozen Four since 2016, when they won the NCAA national title in Berry’s first year.
Chaves was hired in 2018.
While Chaves has been around for four Penrose Cups, he has only seen one NCAA tournament victory — in 2021 (UND notably was the No. 1 team in the Pairwise Rankings when the 2020 season was canceled due to the pandemic).
Berry would have earned a $39,480 bonus for winning the Penrose Cup in 2025-26. Chaves cut that bonus by just over 85%. Jackson gets $5,000.
Chaves also completely cut out bonuses for a 20-win season, a 25-win season, finishing in the top half of the NCHC, winning a quarterfinal playoff series, reaching the NCHC title game, earning a No. 1 or No. 2 seed in the NCAA tournament, winning a first-round game in the NCAA tournament, having an All-American, a Hobey Baker Award finalist and a Hobey Baker winner.
Jackson’s seven bonuses are winning the Penrose Cup ($5,000), winning an NCHC playoff title ($5,000), earning an NCAA berth ($10,000), winning NCHC Herb Brooks Coach of the Year ($5,000), earning the Spencer Penrose national coach of the year ($10,000), reaching the NCAA Frozen Four ($25,000) and winning the NCAA national championship ($50,000).
The Frozen Four and national title bonuses are in addition to the base salary raises.
Jackson signed a term sheet prior to being named head coach in late March. He later inked the full contract.
UND associate head coach Matt Smaby will have a base salary of $220,000. Assistant coach Dillon Simpson and general manager Bryn Chyzyk have base salaries of $160,000.
Jackson’s contract also includes buyouts.
Jackson owes the university significantly more if he leaves for another NCAA job (starts at $2.15 million and drops 20% each year) than an NHL job (starts at $200,000 and drops $20,000 each year).
UND’s buyout for letting go of Jackson early starts at $2.15 million and drops each year — $1.75 million to $1.34 million to $905,000 to $460,000.