Mike Pegues

Mike Pegues coaches the Louisville men's basketball team against Duke in his first game back as the program's interim head coach.

 Eric Crawford

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) – The University of Louisville athletics board officially sweetened the financial deal for interim basketball coach Mike Pegues on Tuesday, authorizing a one-time bonus of $340,000, equal to his yearly salary, for taking over in midseason for the departed Chris Mack.

Pegues also is eligible for a number of bonuses, including $25,000 for an ACC Tournament quarterfinal win, $50,000 for a semifinal win and $125,000 for an ACC Tournament championship. Another $50,000 could be earned for a first-round NCAA Tournament win and $75,000 for a second round win, and so on.

Heird says he's optimistic Pegues can help the basketball team finish its season on a positive note.

"He does a terrific job with establishing his expectations for the guys in the locker room," Heird said. "And, as I've always said, I want to make sure that we have a very high standard, and it's a standard of excellence. And if anybody around the program is not living up to that expectation, as you can see, there's going to be consequences. So he's going to set the tone from the jump. He did back to the beginning of the season, and I don't expect him to change anything as the season comes to a conclusion."

Heird was referring to Pegues' decision to suspend team captain and leading scorer Malik Williams for not adhering to team standards. Williams will not play when the Cardinals host North Carolina at 8 p.m. on Tuesday.

"Mike called me on Sunday and we talked through that decision," Heird said. "And I told him I support him 100%. And so that's what we're going to plan to do. And if we need to have additional decisions like that, we'll make them. Like I said, Mike is our head coach, and it's my job to support him."

Pegues' original deal was to run through 2024, but once Mack departed, his contract automatically would be up in 60 days. This deal extends through June 30, 2022.

Whether Pegues would have a chance to be considered for the permanent job, Heird said, "I think I said last week, last Wednesday, the qualification is a good basketball coach, as far as who's going to be our next basketball coach. That's the only qualification we have right now. And Mike fits that. So absolutely."

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