Longwood’s men’s basketball team is heading to another NCAA tournament following yet another 20+ win season headed by Head Coach Griff Aldrich.

Under Aldrich’s tenure, the Lancers have experienced the most success ever during their time as a Division 1 program. Players love him. The fans love him. And there is no doubt that the university loves him. After all, he has now put them on the national stage twice in three years.

But can they keep him around? It is no secret that Longwood is not the most prestigious basketball job in the nation. Nor is it flush with cash from private benefactors (ahem High Point). But can Longwood manage to pony up the cash to keep its winningest coach in Farmville?

As of writing, Aldrich currently is paid a salary of $150,000 annually placing him near the bottom of the Big South conference in terms of compensation. That simply doesn’t seem right. With a career winning percentage near the top of the conference, and a base salary near the bottom, the Lancers can’t expect Aldrich to stick around forever, even with his ties to the area.

Radford’s Darris Nichols base salary is twice that of Aldrich without the post season success. Even Dave Dickerson at USC Upstate has a base salary nearly $40,000 more than Aldrich with only two winning seasons in his coaching career, both coming while he was the Head Coach at Tulane nearly fifteen years ago.

And it’s not as if the rumblings haven’t already started. Immediately after securing the berth for the 2024 tournament, rumors began to circulate that Aldrich was in the running for the recently vacated Head Coach position at Rice. While Longwood likely doesn’t have the reserves in the coffers to match what Rice may offer him, an increase in pay towards the top of the Big South may be enough to keep Aldrich around for a while longer. Can anyone say why he shouldn’t be making north of $300,000?

It is true that Aldrich recently signed an extension to keep him in Farmville through 2034, these contracts are paper thin at best. If another schools wants him as their coach, and the feeling on his part is mutual, they will get the deal done. It is all but certain. So it’s time for Longwood to put its money where its ambitions are. For the first time in their Division 1 history, the Lancers have a coach that can consistently place them in the big dance, it’s far past time to pay him like it.