ARDMORE — Anyone thinking Oklahoma football coach Bob Stoops or men’s basketball coach Jeff Capel have an eye toward greener pastures might want to take a good look at the new contracts approved for each at the OU Board of Regents meeting Wednesday.

The university’s governing body approved seven-year, incentive-laced contracts for both coaches that will make Stoops one of the highest paid coaches in the nation and also boost Capel to one of the highest paid in the Big 12.

“We say this every time there’s an increase in coaches’ compensation: There’s those who will always question why and how from one perspective,” OU athletic director Joe Castiglione said. “For us, we’re recognizing the growth and achievement of the programs they coach; the success that is present, not what just has occurred, but what we believe will continue to occur in the years ahead.”

No state money is used for coaches’ salaries. All compensation packages are funded through athletic department revenue.

Stoops’ deal will pay him $30.125 million through the 2015 season. He will receive a salary of $3.675 million this coming season, but it will automatically increase by $200,000 every year. Stoops will also receive a stay bonus of $700,000 each July starting in 2010.

His salary will top out at $4.875 million in 2011 with an additional one-time $800,000 bonus if he coaches through the 2010 season. He’ll make $4.475 million over the final three years of the contract.

The stay bonus is nothing new for Stoops. He received a $3 million annuity following last season as a part of an agreement signed six years ago.

In an interesting move, the stay bonuses for both Stoops and Capel are payable over the summer, instead of the end of a season.

“We annualized that amount so it triggers at a certain time of year following what we would call the hiring periods — not just collegiate hiring, but the NFL hiring periods,” Castiglione said.

Capel’s new contract is also loaded with a stay bonuses. His deal will pay him $13.28 million over the next seven years. His salary will be $1.5 million for this coming season. It will escalate by $50,000 over the next three seasons and by $70,000 for the 2012-13 and 2013-14 seasons.

If Capel is still OU’s coach in June of 2014, he will receive a one-time bonus of $1.1 million and will make $2.84 million that season. He’ll receive an additional bonus of $400,000 if he completes the contract.

Capel made $1.05 million last season. The significant raise is an attempt by OU to ward off speculation that has surrounded Capel following the last two seasons.

In March of 2008, South Carolina was believed to be after the Sooner coach. Arizona was among the schools interested in Capel following last season.

“When those rumors start floating and people start questioning and speculating what might happen or whether or not a person is interested ... they always ask what are we going to do? I usually say, ‘Well, have you ever looked at what we have already done?”’ Castiglione said. “Our emphasis has always been on more of a proactive approach versus a reactive one. That doesn’t necessarily mean that we won’t react if a situation develops. It just means that we’re thinking ahead.”

Castiglione said Capel’s success shares a lot of the same traits with what Sherri Coale has achieved with the women’s basketball program over the last decade.