(10-31-2015 11:07 AM)MplsBison Wrote: (10-30-2015 06:57 PM)Kittonhead Wrote: (10-29-2015 12:56 PM)MissouriStateBears Wrote: (10-29-2015 09:31 AM)MplsBison Wrote: Thank you very much, MSB.
It's somewhat like I thought. Even though a lot of MVFC fans, and FCS fans in general, think the top of FCS is the same thing as the bottom of FBS, even the best FCS program in the nation would be last in head coach salary in the MAC.
In bball, it's obvious Wichita St is head and shoulders above the MAC (and the rest of the MVC). But it does seem that IL St. and MO St. bball is right in the middle of the pack for MAC levels. In terms of coaching salaries.
Both MSU and ISU bball coaches also were first time head coaches, salary is in line for that. We offered Cuonzo Martin up to $750,000 when he bolted to Tennessee.
I have been tracking basketball HC salaries since the 90's. The last 4-5 years the MAC has stepped it up. A relatively recent development.
What I've been seeing in the last 5 years or so has been interesting. Back in the early 90's schools like Xavier and New Mexico were paying their coaches 500,000. When success hit those schools were paying 800,000 then 1.2 million for their coaches.
When the coaches that formed the backbone of that success left, they walked the salaries back down to 400,000 to start for new/young/inexperienced coaches.
Memphis is another example. Calapari if I recall started with Memphis at 750k. After Calapari's run they pushed him up to over 2 million per year. He moves on and they bring in Pastner back down at a salary of 800,000.
Greg Marshall has a nice run at Winthrop and Wichita State's AD (Jim Schaus) hired him for 800,000 to start. Marshall has been successful and now he's making 1.8 million but if he goes I doubt the next guy will be making that much.
Ohio hired Tim O'shea in 2001 for 150,000 no bonus. In 2008 they hired John Groce at a salary of 250,000. The next year they hire Jim Schaus as AD from Wichita State to make a commitment to bigger basketball. In 2012 they hire Jim Christian the head coach of TCU for 475,000. In 2014 they hire the head coach of NDSU Saul Phillips for 750,000 to start. If he has Greg Marshall's success with the NBA flex offense he's putting in then he could be looking at 1.8 million in a couple of years.
Its the the same story across the MAC with HC salaries north of $500,000 becoming common. The administrations in the MAC realize if they pay more they won't get poached as often and higher salaries justify higher buyouts.
It also requires a culture shift. The highest paid employee at Ohio is the men's basketball coach. At schools like an Eastern Illinois, a public school without a lot of money athletic or otherwise having the men's basketball coach as the highest paid employee making more than the school president won't go over with the board of directors. A true commitment to big time Division 1 athletics is required for it to happen.
Last year Ohio was 10-20 in basketball. They put 6700 in the stands on a 17 game home schedule. Most D1 programs couldn't sniff that level of support anytime and certainly not with a 10-20 team. This is a program that could draw as much as Wichita with Wichita performance.
Some of these MAC schools have more upside in drawing basketball crowds and basketball revenue. Weather is not a factor playing inside. MAC schools have large enough student bodies to easily pack the arenas.
Ohio is a public school. Saul Phillips is probably making more than the president and any of the board members or other high level administrators.
My point is that Wichita St can actually afford to pay a basketball coach $1.8million a year. That's a lot of money, and so it's a semi-accurate proxy for the success of the program.
I don't think Ohio has the ability to pay any basketball (or football) coach 1.8million, even if they wanted to.
The school definitely has the money to pay 1.8 million. Ohio is several times larger in both endowment and enrollment. I'll repeat again, Ohio hired Wichita State's AD away for his expertise on the Shocker basketball program as a model for theirs. Its a program that wants to be an every year NCAA tourney program.
The coaches have to perform and show the value first. At 1.8 million the coach should be taking the program to an Access Bowl or a Final Four.
Take a look at what the G5 coaches are making that are under 43:
Taggart (South Florida)-$1,600,000
Harsin (Boise State)-$1,500,000
Rhule (Temple)-$1,500,000
Fuente (Memphis)-$1,400,000
Herman (Houston)-$1,400,000
Bobo (Colorado State)-$1,400,000
Fleck (Western Michigan)-$835,000
Wells (Utah State)-$800,000
Brown (Troy)-$700,000
Campbell (Toledo)-$600,000
Pollian (Nevada)-$600,000
Charlie Partridge (Florida Atlantic)-$600,000
Tony Sanchez (UNLV)-$500,000
-Taggart was hired to coach in an AQ conference that is why his salary is so high.
-Harsin was formerly the coach of Arkansas State where he was making over 800k there.
-Rhule and Fuente have been at Temple and Memphis for a few years. Both started closer to 1 million per year.
-Herman is at Houston, a program on the verge of moving to a P5 conference, hardly an average situation.
-Colorado State is trying to make a big push in football w/ new stadium so they went in big with Bobo.
-Fleck was increased to 835k recently by the WMU administration after a few successful recruiting season.
There are a lot of cases these days in the G5 world where a higher paid coach is replaced by a younger coach paid less money. Nevada was paying Chris Alut more money has he was a legend for their program. UNLV has paid more money for a coach in the past but they aren't doing it now.
MAC and SBC schools are now paying in the same range as CUSA/MWC for starter HC's. That is a big change from where things were 10-15 years ago.