We spent the 2022 offseason requesting publicly available coaching contracts to compile a one-stop source for head coach compensation and contract information. We requested contracts for all Power Five institutions, including those EAGL schools that will compete in the ACC in 2024*. Some interesting trends emerged, so we put our data editors to the task of analyzing the numbers.
For our first deep dive, we took a look at total possible compensation. Most coaches have bonus potential available to them for a variety of academic and athletic achievements. Because each institution awards those bonuses differently (some by salary percentage, some offering a flat fee) and for different accomplishments, we decided only to focus on two areas where nearly every coach has bonus potential.
Since total possible compensation is so different depending on the institution, we decided to run two specific scenarios: head coach compensation should the team win the conference championship and compensation should the team win the national championship. Within each scenario we ran two further options: base salary plus the bonus for winning the title, and base salary, bonus and retention bonus. Not all coaches have retention bonuses available.
Scenario One: Conference Championship
| Name | University | Conference | Base Salary | Base + Bonus | Base + Bonus + Retention |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bev Plocki | Michigan | Big Ten | $314,570.00 | $329,570.00 | $335,861.00 |
| Jay Clark | LSU | SEC | $275,000.00 | $300,000.00 | $300,000.00 |
| Jeff Graba | Auburn | SEC | $250,000.00 | $275,000.00 | $275,000.00 |
| K.J. Kindler | Oklahoma | Big 12 | $280,000.00 | $280,000.00 | $370,000.00 |
| Tom Farden | Utah | Pac-12 | $252,022.00 | $272,022.00 | $277,022.00 |
| Tim Garrison | Kentucky | SEC | $220,000.00 | $250,000.00 | $250,000.00 |
| Jenny Rowland | Florida | SEC | $251,116.00 | $276,116.00 | $396,116.00 |
| Tanya Chaplin | Oregon State | Pac-12 | $205,008.00 | $222,092.00 | $232,088.00 |
| Danna Durante | North Carolina | EAGL (ACC) | $160,000.00 | $160,000.00 | $170,000.00 |
| Courtney Kupets Carter | Georgia | SEC | $205,000.00 | $205,000.00 | $205,000.00 |
| Amy Smith | Clemson | ACC | $155,000.00 | $180,000.00 | $205,000.00 |
| Janelle McDonald | UCLA | Pac-12 | $175,000.00 | $175,000.00 | $180,000.00 |
| Jen Llewellyn | Washington | Pac-12 | $135,000.00 | $145,000.00 | $145,000.00 |
| Larissa Libby | Iowa | Big Ten | $165,000.00 | $185,000.00 | $195,000.00 |
| Ashley Johnston | Alabama | SEC | $175,000.00 | $175,000.00 | $175,000.00 |
| Nadalie Walsh | Illinois | Big Ten | $160,000.00 | $172,800.00 | $172,800.00 |
| Umme Salim-Beasley | Rutgers | Big Ten | $133,500.00 | $143,500.00 | $147,000.00 |
| Shannon Welker | Missouri | SEC | $155,000.04 | $170,500.04 | $170,500.04 |
| Jordyn Wieber | Arkansas | SEC | $150,000.00 | $150,000.00 | $150,000.00 |
| Meredith Paulicivic | Ohio State | Big Ten | $150,000.00 | $162,750.00 | $162,750.00 |
| Heather Brink | Nebraska | Big Ten | $147.175.00 | $169,251.25 | $169,251.25 |
| Kim Landrus | N.C. State | EAGL (ACC) | $104,990.00 | $109,990.00 | $139,990.00 |
| Brett Nelligan | Maryland | Big Ten | $110,720.00 | $120,720.00 | $120,720.00 |
| Jenny Hansen | Minnesota | Big Ten | $120,000.00 | $125,000.00 | $125,000.00 |
| Jay Santos | Arizona State | Pac-12 | $124,000.00 | $127,500.00 | $127,500.00 |
| Jason Butts | West Virginia | Big 12 | $117,000.00 | $124,000.00 | $124,000.00 |
| John Court | Airzona | Pac-12 | $115,000.00 | $120,000.00 | $120,000.00 |
| Jay Ronayne | Iowa State | Big 12 | $130,000.00 | $132,500.00 | $132,500.00 |
| Mike Rowe | Michigan State | Big Ten | $95,931.00 | $95,931.00 | $95,931.00 |
Scenario Two: National Championship
| Name | University | Conference | Base Salary | Base + Bonus | Base + Bonus + Retention |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bev Plocki | Michigan | Big Ten | $314,570.00 | $339,570.00 | $345,861.00 |
| Jay Clark | LSU | SEC | $275,000.00 | $315,000.00 | $315,000.00 |
| Jeff Graba | Auburn | SEC | $250,000.00 | $300,000.00 | $300,000.00 |
| K.J. Kindler | Oklahoma | Big 12 | $280,000.00 | $280,000.00 | $370,000.00 |
| Tom Farden | Utah | Pac-12 | $252,022.00 | $277,022.00 | $277,022.00 |
| Tim Garrison | Kentucky | SEC | $220,000.00 | $255,000.00 | $255,000.00 |
| Jenny Rowland | Florida | SEC | $251,116.00 | $326,450.00 | $346,450.00 |
| Tanya Chaplin | Oregon State | Pac-12 | $205,008.00 | $215,008.00 | $225,004.00 |
| Danna Durante | North Carolina | EAGL (ACC) | $160,000.00 | $210,000.00 | $220,000.00 |
| Courtney Kupets Carter | Georgia | SEC | $205,000.00 | $205,000.00 | $205,000.00 |
| Amy Smith | Clemson | ACC | $155,000.00 | $195,000.00 | $220,000.00 |
| Janelle McDonald | UCLA | Pac-12 | $175,000.00 | $187,500.00 | $192,500.00 |
| Jen Llewellyn | Washington | Pac-12 | $135,000.00 | $185,000.00 | $192,500.00 |
| Larissa Libby | Iowa | Big Ten | $165,000.00 | $177,000.00 | $187,000.00 |
| Ashley Johnston | Alabama | SEC | $175,000.00 | $175,000.00 | $175,000.00 |
| Nadalie Walsh | Illinois | Big Ten | $160,000.00 | $185,600.00 | $185,600.00 |
| Umme Salim-Beasley | Rutgers | Big Ten | $133,500.00 | $158,500.00 | $162,000.00 |
| Shannon Welker | Missouri | SEC | $155,000.04 | $193,750.04 | $193,750.04 |
| Jordyn Wieber | Arkansas | SEC | $150,000.00 | $150,000.00 | $150,000.00 |
| Meredith Paulicivic | Ohio State | Big Ten | $150,000.00 | $172,500.00 | $172,500.00 |
| Heather Brink | Nebraska | Big Ten | $147.175.00 | $183,965.75 | $183,965.75 |
| Kim Landrus | N.C. State | EAGL (ACC) | $104,990.00 | $144,990.00 | $174,990.00 |
| Brett Nelligan | Maryland | Big Ten | $110,720.00 | $140,720.00 | $140,720.00 |
| Jenny Hansen | Minnesota | Big Ten | $120,000.00 | $140,000.00 | $140,000.00 |
| Jay Santos | Arizona State | Pac-12 | $124,000.00 | $137,000.00 | $137,000.00 |
| Jason Butts | West Virginia | Big 12 | $117,000.00 | $137,000.00 | $137,000.00 |
| John Court | Airzona | Pac-12 | $115,000.00 | $135,000.00 | $135,000.00 |
| Jay Ronayne | Iowa State | Big 12 | $130,000.00 | $132,500.00 | $132,500.00 |
| Mike Rowe | Michigan State | Big Ten | $95,931.00 | $95,931.00 | $95,931.00 |
It’s clear that the SEC dominates compensation, but not unilaterally. Bev Plocki, the longest-tenured Power Five coach, comes out on top when retention bonuses aren’t taken into consideration. Oklahoma’s KJ Kindler unsurprisingly has the highest potential compensation when her hefty $70,000 retention bonus is in the mix. Florida’s Jenny Rowland also stands to benefit greatly from a national title, coming in second in total compensation for both scenarios should the Gators finish No. 1.
Should Kentucky win the SEC tournament, Tim Garrison stands to walk away with $30,000, the highest bonus available for a conference title, landing him in seventh in potential compensation in that category. It’s worth noting, too, that Jay Clark could walk away with $40,000 if LSU wins both the SEC regular season and tournament titles. Should that happen, his total compensation potential would be $340,000.
*Note that we do not have specific benefit potential information for Ashley Johnston, Jordyn Wieber, Courtney Kupets-Carter and Mike Rowe. The state of Pennsylvania exempts its universities from sunshine laws; we have no data for Penn State or Pittsburgh. We also do not have data for Denver or Stanford since they are private institutions. California has not responded to our public information request.
READ THIS NEXT: Data Deep Dive: Alternative Ways of Calculating NQS
Article by Emily Minehart; Data analysis by Emma Hammerstrom
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