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For the first 13 years of his tenure as Arizona's athletic director, Jim Livengood never had to worry much about contracts for men's basketball coaches.

He would just give one to Lute Olson, usually slightly under market value, and let the longtime Wildcat coach go to work, developing NBA players, reaching NCAA tournaments and winning Pac-10 titles … and building a program that now nets about $10 million a year.

But since Olson stepped down for a leave of a absence in November 2007, eventually retiring for good in October 2008, things haven't been nearly as easy.

Livengood paid Kevin O'Neill $725,000 to serve as Wildcats interim head coach in 2007-08, while also having to pay Olson's $737,790 salary, and then offered Russ Pennell $500,000 to do the same last season after Olson was off the books.

This spring, he offered an unprecedented $1.6 million annually to Sean Miller, exclusive of $400,000 in outside income and various incentives, in a deal that is essentially market value for a top-shelf college basketball coach.

"We did what we felt we needed to do to get him," Livengood said. "The big thing is very seldom do you replace someone where you don't pay more."

Here's a comparison of 10 key components in Olson's final contract to the one the Arizona Board of Regents approved for Miller last week:

Olson: Received a base salary of $400,000 and peripheral-duties compensation of $300,000 when his final contract extension was granted in March 2004; that package increased to $737,790 with raises through 2007-08.

Miller: Will be paid $900,000 in base salary and $700,000 for peripheral duties, which include radio and television shows, public appearances and speaking engagements.

Olson: Received an undisclosed six-figure sum from Nike.

Miller: To receive $200,000 each from Nike and IMG.

Olson: Received standard five-year contract, the maximum length allowed under regents policy. His last extension was scheduled to go through April 2011.

Miller: Has a five-year deal plus a clause in his contract stating he will be extended for two additional years in 2011 if there are no grounds to fire him with cause (i.e. criminal conduct, NCAA violations, mental incapacity, etc).

Olson: None

Miller: Signing bonus of $1 million, plus up to $400,000 toward the undisclosed buyout of his previous contract at Xavier.

Olson: None

Miller: Will receive $1.5 million ($300,000 for each year of service) if he completes the full term of his contract, based on five years.

Olson: UA would have had to pay Olson $203,533 for each year remaining in his contract if he had been fired without cause. Olson was contracted to pay $100,000 if he left early, though that fee was waived when he retired in October 2008.Miller: UA will pay Miller a sliding amount based on his years at the school if he is fired without cause — $4.8 million in the first year, $4 million in the second year, $3.2 million in the third year, $1.6 million in the fourth and, after the fourth, one-half the amount of remaining salary and peripheral compensation. Miller must pay UA $500,000 if he quits before the end of the fifth year, unless UA is under NCAA or Pac-10 sanctions for violations occurring before his hiring (UA is currently under NCAA investigation for a potential violation under Olson's tenure).

Olson: A maximum of $25,000 — the full amount if team's GPA was 3.4 or higher or if graduation rate was 73 percent; $20,000 for team GPA of 3.3 or graduation rate of 68 percent; $15,000 for 3.2 GPA or 63 percent graduation rate; $10,000 for 3.1 GPA or 58 percent graduation rate; $5,000 if GPA exceeded 3.0 or graduation rate 53 percent.

Miller: $50,000 for graduation rate of 100 percent; $25,000 if graduation rate is above 42 percent. Also, he can receive $50,000 if team APR (Academic Progress Rate, a rolling average that is affected by transfers and academic eligibility) is 1,000, or $25,000 if APR exceeds 948. UA's most recent APR score was 949.

Olson: $30,000 for Pac-10 championship; $15,000 for Pac-10 Tournament title; up to $175,000 for NCAA tournament performance (full amount for national title; $50,000 for Final Four; $30,000 for Elite Eight; $15,000 for second round); $30,000 if ranked in final Top 10 or $20,000 for Top 15; $40,000 for 25 wins or $20,000 for 20 wins; $40,000 for national coach of the year or $20,000 for Pac-10 coach of the year.

Miller: $50,000 for Pac-10 championship; $50,000 Pac-10 Tournament title; up to $675,000 for NCAA tournament performance (full amount for national title; $300,000 for Final Four; $125,000 for Elite Eight; $75,000 for Sweet 16; $25,000 for second round); $30,000 for Top 10 finish or $20,000 for Top 15 finish; $40,000 for 25 wins or $20,000 for 20 wins; $40,000 for national coach of year or $20,000 for Pac-10 coach of year.

Olson: Two automobiles, 13 men's basketball season tickets, eight football season tickets, 15 all-expense-paid trips to men's basketball postseason events.

Miller: Two automobiles, and unspecified tickets and all-expense-paid trips (Miller's full contract details have not yet been disclosed).

Olson: None, though Olson sometimes used booster transportation for recruiting and games.

Miller: Up to 30 hours per year for recruiting and other work-related travel.