Outpouring of support leads Casey to stay at OSU

'It really blew me away,' says baseball coach, who turns down Notre Dame offer

By Kerry Eggers

LocalNewsDaily.com, Jul 14, 2006, Updated Oct 30, 2009

Jim Clark / The Portland Tribune

Oregon State University baseball coach Pat Casey takes part in a press conference Friday in Corvallis announcing that he will remain with the Beavers. On the left is OSU Athletic Director Bob De Carolis.

Relationships and a love for the Northwest – not money – are the reasons baseball coach Pat Casey is staying at Oregon State.

“It came down to the people who are here,” said Casey, who has turned down an offer to coach at Notre Dame and will remain with the Beavers.

“I love Corvallis, Oregon and the Northwest,” Casey said, “and the relationships I have made at Oregon State are very important to me.”

Casey, 47, was in South Bend, Ind., Tuesday and Wednesday visiting with Notre Dame officials, who offered him a financial package beginning at about $300,000 per year.

After returning to Corvallis, Casey met for several hours Thursday with OSU Athletic Director Bob De Carolis, finally agreeing to a new contract that will begin with a base salary of $230,000 next season, plus $20,000 from a media package, and run for 10 years.

Oregon State and Casey made the official announcement Friday afternoon at Reser Stadium in Corvallis.

In recent days, Casey said he got numerous e-mails and phone calls, including a call from Gov. Ted Kulongoski, urging him to stay at OSU.

"It was unbelievable the amount of support I had from all of you,” Casey said. “It really blew me away."

Casey, a McMinnville native who graduated from Newberg High in 1977 and has been a lifelong resident of Oregon, coached Oregon State to the NCAA championship at the College World Series last month in Omaha, Neb.

If he meets all incentives, Casey could make about $300,000 next season with the Beavers. His new deal at Oregon State also includes salary increases and lucrative incentives for members of his coaching staff.

In 2005, Casey’s base salary was $67,000, the lowest among Pac-10 baseball coaches. After taking the Beavers to the Pac-10 title that year, De Carolis gave him a raise and a five-year extension, bumping his salary to $120,000, with other incentives and bonuses.

The Beavers repeated as Pac-10 champions in 2006, made it back to the College World Series for the second year in a row, then stormed their way to the title after losing their opening game.

Casey thought long and hard about signing on with the Fighting Irish.

“Notre Dame is an awesome university, what they do and what they stand for,” he said. “That part was very difficult for me to turn down.

“That was one place I thought I could coach. I went back there with an open mind, and I saw an unbelievable university. ... It was pretty special, and I want to thank them for the opportunity they presented me.”

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