A record 25 college football coaches make $2-million a year or more, while the average salary of head football coaches in the NCAA’s Division I-A has grown to $1.36-million, according to a new survey by USA Today. The number who earn at least $2-million is more than double the number from two years ago. Assistant coaches are also making out well: In its first examination of those salaries, USA Today found that at least 66 assistants make in excess of $300,000, including one, the University of Tennessee’s Monte Kiffin, who makes $1.2-million. The survey includes a database of head and assistant coaches’ salaries at the 120 institutions in Division I-A and a video on a day in the life of an assistant coach at New Mexico State University.
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5 Responses to The Economy Is Down, but College Football Coaches’ Salaries Are Up
22090359 - November 10, 2009 at 3:24 pm
I think it’s curious that universities cut academic programs and pay coaches such ridiculous wages. I guess it says what these universities’ priorities really are.
cwinton - November 10, 2009 at 4:09 pm
Even more to the point, by all accounts most of these programs have to be subsidized, directly through fiscal outlays, and indirectly through facilities and support.
roundtable4 - November 10, 2009 at 4:36 pm
These universities need to work harder to build a university their football team can be proud of.
fredd3 - November 10, 2009 at 8:09 pm
At Tennessee it is really messed up. The coach is paid $2.5 million and he hired his father to be assistant on defense for $1.2 million.They just broke ground on a new $39 million football office etc building.At the same time UTK is about to lay off some 500 people because when the Obama stimulus runs out they will have a financial crisis.They say football is self supporting but that is because the athletic department now has priority access to any potential donor.This is a university where academic standards have been dropped to maintain enrollment, key departments have been closed, accreditatiion is threatened in many key departments and the central administration has grown to 15 vice presidents from six when Lamar Alexander was president.
mark_r_harris - November 10, 2009 at 9:45 pm
And let’s not forget that many of these football (and men’s basketball) coaches are public employees — in several instances, the highest-paid public employee in their state, by a long shot. It’s easy to see what our true priorities are.