Across the nation, colleges and universities compete with each other within athletics. In the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), colleges are organized into three divisions where each sport ultimately competes for a divisional national title. Within each division, the colleges are divided into conferences. Most conferences are based on geographics, though there are plans for some conferences to realign in the near future. On the division one level, some sports and conferences are extremely competitive, promoting high viewership and following among fans.
The coaches of these sports have varying salaries based on the sport, their team’s performance, popularity, and more. Division one collegiate football is the most widely viewed sport in the NCAA. Consequently, the coaches of these top-ranked teams in the more highly competitive conferences are paid large sums of money. Head coaches of the Southeastern Conference (SEC) dominate the ranks of any list comparing the salaries of college coaches. According to a list of college coach compensation compiled by USA TODAY, this 2023 college football season, the head football coaches of “half of the SEC…are making $9 million or more” (USA TODAY). This statistic is shocking as it’s the first time that this many coaches have been paid this much in a single season. These salaries have generated a great deal of debate on both sides of the argument of whether college coach salaries have gone too far.
In comparison to football coaches in the D2 and D3 level, D1 coaches are making an extreme amount of money. The athletics at these schools have smaller budgets and are less popular, which explains the smaller salaries. However, this disparity still poses the question of why these coaches are being paid so highly.
Division one collegiate football coaches pay is surging at an exponential level. Even in comparison to coaches among the same schools with debatably more popular sports, football coaches overshadow the others. The reason for this is because football coaches' pay follows the model that is set by professional teams and their coaches. Even if men’s basketball is more popular than football at some of the top Power Five (top five conference) schools, the difference in pay still favors football. Previously, this was not the case.
Division one football coach compensation vastly changed around 2010. A list with fifteen basketball-dominant top D1 schools comparing the pay of the head football coach versus the head men’s basketball coach in 2010 displays the effect of a sport’s domination on coach salaries. Historically, the more popular the sport, the higher the coach salary. However, this year the salary increases for the football coaches at some of these schools have outpaced those of the basketball coaches, even though basketball is more popular. This may reflect the earning potential each sport has at the school. Football may simply generate more lucrative viewership contracts.
The difference between the increase in higher pay for D1 football coaches is not the only pay discrepancy in the NCAA. Another review of coach salaries displayed the difference of pay between men’s and women’s coaches. Since there is no football for women in the NCAA, women’s basketball is the most widely viewed women’s sport. Overall, men’s coaches’ salaries are increasing. For women’s coaches, salaries are expanding, but not at a comparable rate to men’s coaches. Even with football coaches removed from the analysis, men’s salaries still outpaced those of their women counterparts. Along with why D1 collegiate coaches are being paid such high salaries, a new question arises‒ why are colleges not comparably investing in academic programs as much as their athletics?
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