Georgia Southern's Jared Benko gets $90,000 raise for athletic department's success

Jared Benko, who as director of athletics has guided Georgia Southern to success on the playing fields, in construction of new facilities and record fundraising, is being rewarded for his efforts.

Benko will be paid a $90,000 increase for an annual base salary of $403,000, Leonard Bevill, chair of the Georgia Southern Athletic Foundation, said Thursday morning.

The athletic foundation is funding the pay raise for the next five years through its Competitive Excellence Fund, Bevill said. The university pays Benko's base salary and an $8,000 annual escalator, he said.

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According to the agreements obtained by the Savannah Morning News through an open records request, Benko was originally hired effective April 1, 2020 at an annual base salary of $292,000, plus perks such as a $6,000 automobile allowance or courtesy vehicle; annual membership in Forest Heights Country Club in Statesboro; and academic achievement and athletic competition incentives based on the student-athletes reaching specified collective grade-point averages and GS teams winning Sun Belt Conference titles and/or playing in NCAA postseason and football bowl games.

The initial agreement with the athletic foundation covered five years from April 1, 2020 through March 31, 2025.

The raise plus the $8,000 annual increase puts Benko's base salary at $403,000 in Year 1 (July 1, 2022-June 30, 2023) and rising to $435,000 by Year 5 ending June 30, 2027.

"As all of Eagle Nation can see, Jared has done an unbelievable job at Georgia Southern and we look forward to seeing him continue to help the Eagles soar to heights we never thought were possible," said Bevill, foundation chair since the 2021-22 school year.

Georgia Southern alumni including Bevill (bachelor's degree in 1990, master's in 1993) are excited about the direction of the program since Benko was hired. He has been referred to as a rising star in college athletics circles.

"I think it's excellent and well-deserved," Georgia Southern athletics booster Walt Huggins said of Benko's new contract. "I think he's done a great job so far. I think it's also an inducement or encouragement for the work that we hope he'll get done in the next few years."

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Huggins, a Statesboro resident, was the chair of the athletic foundation from 2017-19 and an executive committee member until June. He describes the director's job as like a CEO of the athletics department who has to be able to recognize talent, build relationships with alumni and raise funds.

"It's multi-faceted. You've got to be able to run a business and be good at picking personnel," Huggins said. "He's doing a great job, he really is. He's got a good head on his shoulders. A motivator, and he gets along well with people, fans, friends, alumni. We're very fortunate to have him."

Benko had to steer the department through the immediate impact of the coronavirus pandemic that spring of 2020, through limitations on travel and seating capacities; event rescheduling and cancellations; and reduced revenue and increased expenditures in areas such as testing student-athletes, coaches and staff for COVID-19.

His job responsibilities also include the hiring and firing of coaches, with Benko's start in Statesboro simultaneous with bringing men's basketball head coach Brian Burg on board on March 29, 2020.

Under Benko's watch, GS has earned Sun Belt Conference titles in men's golf, women's golf, women's tennis and women's rifle. The baseball team last spring hosted for the first time an NCAA regional tournament, with Benko sharing credit with the baseball program and head coach Rodney Hennon as well as Deputy Athletics Director Chris Davis and the entire department, university, Eagles fans and the community for supporting an endeavor achieved in under a week's time.

Georgia Southern's highest-profile sport is football, whose success, or lack thereof, impacts fundraising and the other programs. Benko relieved head football coach Chad Lunsford of his duties four games into the 2021 season, and in November hired Clay Helton, a former Southern Cal head coach and longtime assistant with roots in the South.

The splashy hire has created a buzz for the Eagles following a 3-9 campaign in 2021, and Helton has continued that momentum with a 2-0 start in 2022, including an upset of three-touchdown home favorite Nebraska last Saturday.

Benko, who signed the contract extension Sept. 2 (it went into effect Sept. 1) before the football season kicked off, was not available for comment Thursday.

This story was first reported by Frank Sulkowski of WJCL-TV.

Raising funds, building major projects

According to the university, the athletic foundation raised a record $10.6 million in new pledges and outright gifts — more than 68% over the previous record set in FY22 of $6.3 million — which included a record $7.4 million in major gifts.

The Anthony P. Tippins Family Indoor Practice Facility currently under construction adjacent to Paulson Stadium, and the planned Hill Convocation Center give the department more than $76 million in new projects.

The $12.3 million IPF will serve all 17 NCAA-sponsored athletic programs and is slated for completion in early 2023. It is designed to benefit the needs of all 400 student-athletes while also creating new revenue-generating activities for the department.

At 95,000 square feet, the Jack and Ruth Ann Hill Convocation Center will be the largest event venue space between Savannah and Macon and will serve as the signature building on Georgia Southern’s south campus, fronting Veterans Memorial Parkway (US 301 bypass).

With an estimated total cost of $64.4 million, the center will be a multi-story complex that provides approximately 7,000 square feet of additional instructional space for the Waters College of Health Professions. The convocation center provides more than a 50% increase in seating capacity in an arena that will be the new home court for women's and men's basketball games in place of Hanner Fieldhouse.

Huggins, the former foundation chair, noted the two largest projects as well as plans for improvements to the baseball facility, and the new volleyball floor at Hanner. It's been an industrious period at the campus and for raising funds to help pay for it. Huggins pointed to leadership, from Georgia Southern University President Kyle Marrero to Jared Benko, Chris Davis and others.

"The student-athletes are doing well on and off the field," Huggins said. "Donations are at record levels. Even (with) that, we still need more people to join the Erk Russell Fund and to donate. We've got a long way to go to get our facilities up to par with a lot of the other schools in our conference or otherwise."

Benko reports directly to the university president, serves as a member of the President’s Cabinet and oversees 17 NCAA Division I varsity athletics programs.

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Peach State native, Georgia graduate

A Watkinsville native, Benko has connections in Georgia as well as in the Southeast through his employment at Southeastern Conference schools.

Benko came to Statesboro from Mississippi State, where he served as deputy director of athletics/chief financial officer for nearly four years (2016-20).

Benko arrived in Starkville after serving as the assistant athletic director for finance at Auburn, where he was responsible for the day-to-day operations of the business office for two years (2015-16).

Before his time at Arkansas, Benko served as the assistant director of business operations at his alma mater of Georgia from 2008 to 2011. He assisted in all financial management functions and was responsible for reviewing and processing all invoices for the University of Georgia Athletic Association.

Benko earned a bachelor of science in sports studies from Georgia in 2005 and then a master of public administration in Athens in 2007. He was an intern at Georgia from 2007 to 2008.

He also spent seven years in sports communications at Georgia, including five years as a student and two years as a graduate assistant, while assisting with the Atlanta Falcons and Atlanta Braves.

Nathan Dominitz is the Sports Content Editor of the Savannah Morning News and savannahnow.com. Email him at ndominitz@savannahnow.com. Twitter: @NathanDominitz

This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: Georgia Southern athletics director Jared Benko getting raise