College sports, as the NCAA will tell you, aren't about money. When you see these salaries, though, you'll wonder how they can say that with a straight face.
Most of these men are their university's highest-paid employee, and some (we're looking at you, Krzyzewski) make around ten times as much as their school's president.
Let's get to the numbers...
25. Steve Alford, UCLA Basketball: $3,473,973
22. (tie) Bobby Petrino, Louisville Football: $3,500,000
22. (tie) Gary Patterson, TCU Football: $3,500,000
22. (tie) Mike Gundy, Oklahoma State Football: $3,500,000
21. Mark Dantonio, Michigan State Football: $3,700,000
20. Billy Donovan, Florida Basketball: $3,875,964
14. (tie) Jimbo Fisher, Florida State Football: $4,000,000
14. (tie) Steve Spurrier, South Carolina Football: $4,000,000
14. (tie) Brian Kelly, Notre Dame Football: $4,000,000
14. (tie) James Franklin, Penn State Football: $4,000,000
14. (tie) Gus Malzahn, Auburn Football: $4,000,000
14. (tie) Kirk Ferentz, Iowa Football: $4,000,000
12. (tie) Steve Sarkisian, USC Football: $4,250,000
12. (tie) Art Briles, Baylor Football: $4,250,000
11. Brady Hoke, Michigan Football: $4,300,000
10. Les Miles, LSU Football: $4,500,000
9. Rick Pitino, Louisville Basketball: $4,678,327
8. Bob Stoops, Oklahoma Football: $4,750,000
7. Bill Self, Kansas Basketball: $4,750,763
6. Urban Meyer, Ohio State Football: $4,800,000
4. (tie) Kevin Sumlin, Texas A&M Football: $5,000,000
4. (tie) Charlie Strong, Texas Football: $5,000,000
3. John Calipari, Kentucky Basketball: $5,200,000
2. Nick Saban, Alabama Football: $7,300,000
1. Mike Krzyzewski, Duke Basketball: $9,682,032
It's fascinating to compare coaching salaries in big-money sports like football and basketball to salaries in sports that don't rake in the cash. Caleb Porter was considered the nation's best college soccer coach before leaving Akron for the Portland Timbers, and he was making a base salary of $270,000 before moving on to Major League Soccer. Former Olympic gold medalist Cael Sanderson turned Penn State into the nation's top wrestling program, and he takes home $175,000 per year for his trouble.
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