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In 2016, the NCAA generated a record $1 billion in revenue from March Madness thanks to media rights fees, ticket sales, corporate sponsors and a vast array of television adds. Clearly, college basketball is a highly lucrative endeavor with immense earning potential. But how does all of that money trickle down? We know the players aren’t seeing a significant cut (that’s a conversation for another day), but what about the coaches? The handpicked employees that help to build these programs into juggernauts certainly deserve to be compensated accordingly.
Thanks to USA Today, we now know the 68 highest-paid coaches in college basketball. Check out the top 20 highest paid coaches below.
2017 NCAAB TOURNAMENT COACHES’ PAY
1. Rick Pitino, Louisville: $7.76 million
2. John Calipari, Kentucky: $7.43 million
3. Mike Kryzyzewski, Duke: $5.55 million
4. Bill Self, Kansas: $4.93 million
5. Tom Izzo, Michigan State: $4.25 million
6. Bob Huggins, West Virginia: $3.59 million
7. John Beilein, Michigan: $$3.37 million
8. Gregg Marshall, Wichita State: $3.03 million
9. Scott Drew, Baylor: $2.81 million
10. Buzz Williams, Virginia Tech: $2.65 million
11. Dana Altman, Oregon: $2.65 million
12. Steve Alford, UCLA: $2.64 million
13. Sean Millers, Arizona: $2.61 million
14. Mark Turgeon, Maryland: $2.57 million
15. Jay Wright, Villanova: $2.54 million
16. Matt Painter, Purdue: $2.453 million
17. Mike Anderson, Arkansas: $2.45 million
18. Frank Martin, South Carolina: $2.45 million
19. Leonard Hamilton, Florida State: $2.25 million
20. Tony Bennett, Virginia: $2.20 million
Rick Pitino at No. 1 overall isn’t too much of a surprise. The guy has two NCAA Championships to his name and a 770-269 (.741) career record as a college head coach. Say what you want about him personally, but he’s earned the top spot at $7.76 million per year. In fact, no one in the top 10 is a major surprise, though, it’s interesting that No. 10 Buzz Williams ($2.65 million) is closer to No. 63 Brian Jones ($109,273) than he is to Pitino in annual salary. But, hey, that’s how the game works.
