Academic salaries reflect the marketplace, in much the same way that compensation does in the nonacademic world. In general, the medical faculty makes more than the law faculty, who in turn make more than the engineers, who nearly tie with the science faculty, whose salaries trump the humanities faculty, and regrettably, in almost all cases, the teachers of first year French get the last slice of the baguette. More on the relativism of salaries in the humanities can be found in the December 4th posting by my fellow Brainstormer, Stan Katz.
But none of the teaching salaries compare to the recent reports about football coaches. USA Today tells us that the average salary for the 120 major-college football coaches has topped $1-million: wages higher than that of the campus neurosurgeon, rocket-scientist, and yes, to the university president. Four specific football coaches (whose schedules include approximately 12 games a season before tournaments get under way), enter the end zone with over $3 million; and more than 50 others receive seven-figures.
Sixty-five teams played in the NCAA’s 2006 men’s basketball tournament, coached by men who received an average guaranteed compensation of $1.2 million. On the women’s side, Pat Summitt, the leader of the Tennessee Lady Vols, signed a six-year $7.8-million contract, the highest of any coach in women’s college athletics. A high five for Title IX!
One of the great thrills on the journey prospective students travel during the college admissions tour is to hear Duke’s Coach K (Mike Krzyzewski), the legendary basketball coach. It is likely that many high-school students first learn about Duke because of the prominence of the school’s sports teams on national television. I’ll put down a wager that during March Madness, more male high-school seniors can name all of Duke’s starting five basketball players faster than they can come up with anyone teaching philosophy on that same campus.
Ask your taxi driver the name of campus mascots you’ll be astounded at how quickly he replies: UCLA Bruins, Columbia Lions, GW Colonials, Ohio State Buckeyes, Temple Owls, UConn Huskies, and the list goes on and on. The Final Four basketball games or the football Bowl Tournaments get more television coverage and hype in the news than does any other type of campus activity. Intercollegiate athletics is the way many people define higher education.
Money sports like football, basketball, and a few others can bring in serious cash at the gate and through generous alumni support, while at the same time building strong campus loyalty among the school’s fans. But many schools find football is a noose around their necks, taking a major commitment of resources — personnel, equipment, and facilities, often at the expense of other components of campus life. On only a handful of campuses have athletics proven to be a golden goose. The financial and non-monetary assets and liabilities of intercollegiate sports must be weighed carefully. Finding a balance, though often tricky, is necessary.
The passion generated by alumni over athletics is serious. As The Chronicle of Higher Education reported, “Athletics donations have risen sharply in recent years. Sixty-four of the 73 colleges in the six major conferences responded to a Chronicle survey conducted over the past . . . months. Those responding reported they had raised a total of $1.2-billion in private donations for athletics in 2006-7. Over the past five years, the participating colleges brought in more than $3.9-billion for capital campaigns for sports.” If a winning season helps to bring in that kind of money, perhaps it is no wonder why the coaches can demand the salaries they have.
At Columbia, for decades, students rushed to register for Professor Mark Van Doren’s class. At Yale, they lined up to hear Professor Vincent Scully. At Harvard, Professor Stephen Jay Gould’s classes filled up early with many who were not science majors. Most colleges, from coast to coast, have faculty legends —one, two, three, and many more — outstanding teachers whose reputations are known to undergraduates the moment first-year students arrive on campus. To the best of my knowledge, none ever commanded the salaries given to coaches. It is often harder to finance a new lab, library, or residence hall than a sports arena. Playing fields receive fresh sod more urgently than new computers arrive on faculty desks. It is time to give all aspects of the campus a sporting chance.
