College students, get a year of HawgBeat coverage for just $11.95! Request details via email from your school account (.edu) to andrewhutchinson413 (at) gmail (dot) com.
FAYETTEVILLE — The salary pool for Arkansas’ assistant basketball coaches has dropped for a second straight offseason.
New assistant Anthony Ruta, who was promoted into the position after serving as the team’s director of basketball operations, will make $170,000 annually, according to a copy of his offer letter obtained by HawgBeat through a Freedom of Information request.
That is $30,000 less than his predecessor, Clay Moser, who left the staff earlier this month. The three assistants — Ruta, Gus Argenal and Keith Smart — are now set to make a combined $570,000 for the 2022-23 season, which is a 5% decrease from last year’s salary pool.
However, it’s worth noting that Ruta is much younger than Moser and doesn’t have as much experience. While Moser joined head coach Eric Musselman’s staff after multiple stops in the professional ranks, Ruta has worked his way up the coaching ladder.
During four years with Musselman at Nevada, Ruta first served two years as director of basketball operations before getting promoted into an on-court assistant role. He followed a similar path at Arkansas, spending three years in that role before getting a promotion.
While the assistant salary pool fell, it’s a significant bump in pay for Ruta. He was previously making $109,000 as Arkansas’ director of basketball operations, which means he received a 56.0% raise.
