"Officially in the portal": Green Bay HC Doug Gottlieb reacts to POTUS Joe Biden opting out of the presidential election

As POTUS Joe Biden opted out of the 2024 election candidacy and advocates for VP Kamala Harris, he got a humorous endorsement from Green Bay coach Doug Gottlieb. Within two hours of Biden's declaration, the radio show host-turned-coach rephrased the President's decision in NCAA terminology, indicating the beginning of his White House tenure.

Gottlieb also sarcastically implemented the NCAA's COVID-19 eligibility extension in his post:

"Joe Biden, Covid year Senior, officially in the portal," the coach quipped.

The "portal" indicates Biden's continued impact on the democratic landscape after his dropout. The "Covid year Senior" remark hints at the extra year college players have the right to exercise because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

In 2020, the NCAA permitted student-athletes to complete their four years of college sports tenure in five years due to the COVID-19 altered campaigns.

Even though teams had played few games, the additional time came due to competitive fairness. Players didn't play most of their aligned games and couldn't compete on a high level.

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Doug Gottlieb's contract ensures his precedence with the Phoenix

The first-year Wisconsin-Green Bay coach plans to keep his hosting role with Fox Sports while leading the program. It was a major reason behind accepting a low offer of $215,000 for the coming year.

While he aims to keep the two aspects of his life separate from each other, the school and coach have recently ensured the segregation through a conflict management blueprint.

Gottlieb will not be allowed to spend the institution’s money for travel and will need approval from the Atheltic Department for planned leaves at least a week before. Moreover, the coach will have limited access to complimentary staff, IT resources and his HC office.

Other agreements are also implemented to ensure that Gottlieb prioritizes his coaching role at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay while giving him the freedom to continue his multi-decade hosting career.

Moreover, in case Doug Gottlieb is fired without cause before the end of the 2025-26 season’s completion, the school will be obligated to pay him twice his base salary as separation pay. The amount will be reduced by 25% in his third year and will match his salary in his last two years with the program.

In case of a buyout, Doug Gottlieb will be subjected to cash out $850,000 if he quits before the first Friday after the 2026 March Madness finale. The liquidated damages will reduce to $650,000 the next year, $300,000 in 2028 and $100,000 for his last season.