A report recently published by USA Today examined the 2006-2007 school year pay for Division I football coaches. Carroll, who went 11-2 that season and who has won two national championships, seven consecutive PAC-10 titles and produced three Heisman winners in his eight seasons at the school, pulled in $4.4 million in compensation. USC President Steven Sample made about $900,000.
USC isn’t the only school reporting those types of numbers. According to Coaches Hot Seat, during the 2007 season, Charlie Weis of Notre Dame (3-9) was paid about $4 million, Kirk Ferentz of Iowa (6-6) brought home just more than $3 million, Urban Meyer of Florida (9-4) was paid about $3.4 million, and Bob Stoops of Oklahoma (11-3) made more than $3.6 million. In comparison, national champion Louisiana State’s coach, Les Miles, was paid $1.4 million for the 2007 season.
Breaking Down the Compensation
All of Stoops’ paycheck didn’t come from Oklahoma taxpayers or even university investments. According to a Nov. 16, 2006 USA Today article, a large amount of a coach’s salary comes from corporate sponsors and other deals. Stoops’ base salary is $200,000, according to a 2006 AskMen article; his compensation package also includes two cars, 35 hours of annual personal use on a jet and a golf course membership. The rest of the salary comes from football camps, radio and TV appearances and corporate sponsorships.
Other perks included low interest home loans or land deals, annuities, stadium luxury suites and travel accounts for their families. Then there are bonuses for winning specific games, getting a BCS bowl bid, winning records and graduation rates.
Of the 120 D-1 coaches, almost half make more than $1 million a year. Those coaches are most likely to be found in the football-winning conferences; in the ACC, Big East, Big 10, Big 12, Pac-10 and the SEC, the average salary was $1.4 million. Non-BCS conference coaches bring home a more modest average of $419,000.
Are the Coaches Worth the Money?
USC’s athletic department revenue doubled since Carroll’s first year as coach, according to the L.A. Times. Ohio State coach Jim Tressel (11-2) was paid about $2.5 million in 2007; football revenue for the university was almost $120 million, Sports Illustrated reported. That most likely increased for the 2008-2009 season was the team lost only one regular-season game and lost the Fiesta Bowl in the final seconds to Texas, the only football program that can rival OSU in annual revenue.
Meyer, who just won his second national championship in four years, saw his salary almost double after the 2006 championship. Stoops, whose Sooners have brought home one national championship, played for two more and have won the Big 12 five times, received two raises in 10 years, each time Florida, his last employer, was looking for a new coach. Texas coach Mack Brown received a $1.6 million birthday check in 2004 before his contract was renegotiated, according to USA Today; the lowest ranking the Longhorns have seen in Brown’s 11 seasons in Austin is No. 23.
Ferentz is one of the more controversial highly paid coaches; Iowa has never been a national contender, half of his seasons have been losing seasons, yet his compensation remains in the top 10 percent; Iowa’s president, conversely, was paid $390,250 in 2005, far from the millions his coach brings home. Ferentz’s salary increased, according to USA Today, as other colleges and professional teams approached him. Notre Dame’s Weis has a losing record and still brings home a multimillion dollar paycheck.
Big-win coaches bring in big money for their universities, so arguably, they could be worth the big salaries. But for many critics, the losing coaches don't deserve millions of dollars and lots of perks., and with th economy in crisis, those questions will come into event sharper relief for university administrators and athletic directors. In the meantime, as long as fans keep buying tickets, coaches will still be well-paid.
2007 Compensation figures, according to coacheshotseat.com
Big East
- Charlie Weis, Notre Dame (3-9): $4M
SEC
- Nick Saban, Alabama (7-6): $3.5M
- Urban Meyer, Florida (9-4): $3.4M
- Tommy Tuberville, Auburn (9-4): $2.6M
- Philip Fulmer, Tennessee (10-4): $2.05M
- Les Miles, LSU (12-2): $1.4M
Big 12
- Bob Stoops, Oklahoma (11-3): $3.6M
- Mack Brown, Texas (10-3): $2.8M
PAC-10
- Pete Carroll, USC (11-2): $4.4M
- Jeff Tedford, California (7-6): $1.8M
ACC
- Bobby Bowden, Florida State (7-6): $1.7M
- Frank Beamer, Virginia Tech (11-3): $2M
Big 10
- Kirk Ferentz, Iowa (6-6): $3.03M
- Jim Tressel, Ohio State (11-2): $2.4M
- Joe Paterno, Penn State (9-4): $1.5M
- “Million-dollar coaches move into mainstream.” Jodi Upton and Steve Wieberg, USA Today, Nov. 16, 2006.
- “High-paid officials: It’s not just college presidents.” Mary Beth Marklein, USA Today, Feb. 23, 2009.
- “Top 10: Highest College Football Coaches.” Steve Seepersand, AskMen.com, Dec. 21, 2007.
- Coacheshotseat.com
- “USC’s Pete Carroll tops national salary list.” Gary Klein, L.A. Times, Feb. 23, 2009.
- “Destination Jobs: The 12 truly premier gigs in college football.” Andy Staples, CNNSI.com, Feb. 23, 2009.
Heidi Toth - BA in journalism, MBA from Texas TechI spent three years at The University Daily (now The Daily Toreador), the college newspaper, ...
