How Much Do S.B. College Coaches Make?

A discussion at the UC Regents meeting last week tabled a proposal to link coaches’ bonuses with their athletes’ academic performance. The plan would have prohibited coaches with winning records from receiving monetary benefits if their teams fell below a minimum academic requirement. Lt. Governor Gavin Newsom, among others, argued the proposed reform does not go far enough because all but one of the Division I teams in the UC system already meets the requirements. The proposal went back to the UC Office of the President for further study.

According to UC compensation figures released last July, four UCLA coaches are among the highest paid in the system. Their yearly pay ranges from $2.2 to $2.5 million. Berkeley’s current and former football head coaches received similar amounts. (UCLA and Berkeley operate their athletic programs as supplementary enterprises with revenue generated from ticket sales, concessions, and other sources.)

UCSB athletic employees earn a fraction of that. In recent years, UCSB’s athletic directors have earned about $200,000 annually. In 2013, UCSB men’s basketball head coach Bob Williams earned $235,000. The women’s basketball head coach Carlene Mitchell earned $160,000. Baseball head coach Andrew Checketts brought home $152,600, and the men’s soccer coach earned $127,083. Clocking in between $80,000 to $90,000 for annual paychecks were assistant coaches for basketball and the head coach for men’s volleyball.

At Santa Barbara City College, the football coach makes $46,786; the men’s soccer coach earns $26,200; the men’s basketball head coach makes $42,746; and the women’s basketball head coach makes $40,746. All head coaches are parttime as they have other teaching responsibilities or employment, according to the school’s spokesperson Joan Galvan.

As a private school, Westmont College does not have to specifically disclose its coaches’ payroll, but Westmont Athletic Director Dave Odell said NCAA Division 1 salaries are “apples and oranges” to theirs. “Division I coaches are almost always full time and their sole responsibilities relate to their sports,” he said. “At Westmont, any full-time coach has multiple responsibilities outside of their coaching duties, or they are just part-time coaches.”