
How I typically view a job’s quality is the overall resources a program can offer to a coach. How I view the job the coach is doing at that school is if they are posting higher ranked seasons than the amount of overall spending at a school. For instance, Furman has averaged a 60 NET ranking the last 4 seasons the NET has been the preferred metric of the NCAA. Bob Richey would certainly be considered an overachiever with what he is paid and doing with the investment at Furman.
I believe a program is only as good as its current coach. There is plenty of evidence over the history of hiring the wrong coach and losing big regardless of what you have as an institution. There are also plenty of examples of coaches taking programs that had never done anything and building them into powers. Gonzaga didn’t even go to their first NCAA’s until the mid ’90s for example. I believe history is a factor but not in the way many would believe. The trophies and banners are almost meaningless to winning in the future. Where the history does matter moving forward is if the school built foundational things on this success while they were winning like facilities and a fanbase that gives money and shows up that help sustain and contribute to these resources or has gotten them to a higher conference status that helps fill the coffers indirectly.
These resources help schools hire and retain quality coaches. The money is ultimately the biggest deciding factor in my opinion because it starts at the top with the coach, who then recruits the players. Certainly having good facilities, TV, conference location, etc will aid or be a detriment in hiring or retaining the coach, and the quality of staff or players he can bring as well. It’s still tied up mostly in the money though, and it shows as most of the richest programs are the most successful. In this article, we will look at the outliers to this rule of thumb. The programs that do the most with less, and the ones that burn money as well and have little to show.
Here are the Top 150+ Paid Coaches and what they are making.
Poor Return
Pay Rank | Salary | 2022 NET | 4 Year NET Avg | Budget Rank | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
12 | Georgetown | Patrick Ewing | $4,000,000 | 194 | 103 | 20 |
18 | Pitt | Jeff Capel | $3,533,438 | 193 | 125 | 35 |
20 | Nebraska | Fred Hoiberg | $3,500,000 | 145 | 122 | 15 |
36 | Georgia Tech | Josh Pastner | $3,000,000 | 157 | 96 | 77 |
39 | Oregon State | Wayne Tinkle | $2,900,000 | 255 | 114 | 87 |
81 | USF | Brian Gregory | $1,600,000 | 245 | 157 | 106 |
82 | California | Mark Fox | $1,600,000 | 150 | 149 | 74 |
Georgetown, Pitt, and Nebraska are on a different level of burning money, all with top 20 paid coaches and top 35 funded programs getting 100+ results over the last 4 years and 145+ results last season. Other schools that would have been on this list for the results like Georgia and East Carolina fired their coaches last year. We’ll wipe the slate clean for now.
Great Return
Pay Rank | Salary | 2022 NET | 4 Year NET Avg | Budget Rank | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
67 | Gonzaga | Mark Few | $2,000,000 | 1 | 1 | 23 |
74 | North Carolina | Hubert Davis | $1,750,000 | 17 | 24 | 34 |
87 | San Diego St | Brian Dutcher | 1,310,000 | 30 | 35 | 92 |
94 | Loyola Chicago | Drew Valentine | $1,100,000 | 28 | 56 | 100 |
103 | Boise State | Leon Rice | $900,000 | 34 | 75 | 127 |
105 | Saint Mary?s | Randy Bennett | $800,000 | 19 | 20 | 109 |
108 | Belmont | Casey Alexander | $800,000 | 79 | 72 | 152 |
114 | Wyoming | Jeff Linder | $700,000 | 58 | 203 | 119 |
119 | North Texas | Grant McCasland | $650,000 | 55 | 88 | 130 |
150 | Vermont Catamounts | John Becker | $318,270 | 56 | 73 | 204 |
158 | South Dakota State | Eric Henderson | $275,000 | 67 | 102 | 297 |
Furman | Bob Richey | NA | 82 | 60 | 143 |
These schools are getting more bang for their buck. Davidson would be on this list as well if McKillop hadn’t retired last season. Saint Mary’s and Randy Bennett have to be considered the king of doing more with less. The program he has built is incredible. He’s built a legit top 20 program nationally, playing here…

The program was 2-27 the year before he got there, and they haven’t missed an NCAA or NIT in 16 years. The jobs Jeff Linder, John Becker, and Eric Henderson are doing are worth mentioning as well. It’s impressive to get basketball players to Wyoming, Vermont, and South Dakota. These aren’t exactly hotbeds of talent. They have to convince players to come to these locations and play a sport in places that have harsh winters and aren’t the most desirable places to live for young college students. Vermont and South Dakota State are certainly getting incredible returns for what they put into their program. When you compare that to Georgetown sitting in a hotbed like DC it’s eye-opening.
Here are all the top salary’s for current men’s NCAA College Basketball Coaches.
Coaching Salary | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Kansas | Big 12 | Bill Self | $10,184,282 |
2 | Kentucky | SEC | John Calipari, | $8,602,306 |
3 | Michigan State | Big Ten | Tom Izzo | $8,341,321 |
4 | Duke | ACC | Jon Scheyer | $7,353,496 |
5 | UCLA | Pac 12 | Mick Cronin | $5,500,000 |
6 | Texas | Big 12 | Chris Beard | $5,255,000 |
7 | Tennessee | SEC | Rick Barnes | $5,200,000 |
8 | Villanova | Big East | Kyle Neptune | $4,400,000 |
9 | TCU | Big 12 | Jamie Dixon | $4,347,975 |
10 | Maryland | Big Ten | Kevin Willard | $4,200,000 |
11 | West Virginia | Big 12 | Bob Huggins | $4,150,000 |
12 | Georgetown | Big East | Patrick Ewing | $4,000,000 |
13 | Texas A&M | SEC | Buzz Williams | $4,000,000 |
14 | Arkansas | SEC | Eric Musselman | $4,000,000 |
15 | Auburn | SEC | Bruce Pearl | $3,825,321 |
16 | Oregon | Pac 12 | Dana Altman | $3,759,500 |
17 | Virginia | ACC | Tony Bennett | $3,648,019 |
18 | Pitt | ACC | Jeff Capel | $3,533,438 |
19 | Baylor | Big 12 | Scott Drew | $3,511,477 |
20 | Nebraska | Big Ten | Fred Hoiberg, | $3,500,000 |
21 | Illinois | Big Ten | Brad Underwood | $3,500,000 |
22 | Michigan | Big Ten | Juwan Howard | $3,500,000 |
23 | Providence | Big East | Ed Cooley | $3,450,550 |
24 | Louisville | ACC | Kenny Payne | $3,400,000 |
25 | Georgia | SEC | Mike White | $3,400,000 |
26 | USC | Pac 12 | Andy Enfield | $3,354,315 |
27 | Northwestern | Big Ten | Chris Collins | $3,262,250 |
28 | Alabama | SEC | Nate Oats | $3,237,587 |
29 | Purdue | Big Ten | Matt Painter | $3,225,000 |
30 | Oklahoma | Big 12 | Porter Moser | $3,200,000 |
31 | Indiana | Big Ten | Mike Woodson | $3,125,000 |
32 | Houston | AAC | Kelvin Sampson | $3,100,000 |
33 | Ole Miss | SEC | Kermit Davis | $3,052,500 |
34 | Ohio State | Big Ten | Chris Holtmann | $3,045,179 |
35 | Texas Tech | Big 12 | Mark Adams | $3,000,000 |
36 | Georgia Tech | ACC | Josh Pastner | $3,000,000 |
37 | Iowa | Big Ten | Fran McCaffrey | $3,000,000 |
38 | Florida | SEC | Todd Golden | $3,000,000 |
39 | Oregon State | Pac 12 | Wayne Tinkle | $2,900,000 |
40 | Arizona | Pac 12 | Tommy Lloyd | $2,900,000 |
41 | Washington | Pac 12 | Mike Hopkins | $2,900,000 |
42 | Syracuse | ACC | Jim Boehiem | $2,843,260 |
43 | UConn | Big East | Danny Hurley | $2,800,000 |
44 | Marquette | Big East | Shaka Smart | $2,800,000 |
45 | Missouri | SEC | Dennis Gates | $2,750,000 |
46 | NC State | ACC | Kevin Keatts | $2,700,000 |
47 | St John?s | Big East | Mike Anderson | $2,600,000 |
48 | Seton Hall | Big East | Shaheen Holloway | $2,400,000 |
49 | Xavier | Big East | Sean Miller | $2,400,000 |
50 | Colorado | Pac 12 | Tad Boyle | $2,400,000 |
51 | Mississippi State | SEC | Chris Jans | $2,400,000 |
52 | Memphis | AAC | Penny Hardaway | $2,350,000 |
53 | Vanderbilt | SEC | Jerry Stackhouse | $2,232,090 |
54 | Florida State | ACC | Leonard Hamilton | $2,200,000 |
55 | Arizona State | Pac 12 | Bobby Hurley | $2,200,000 |
56 | South Carolina | SEC | Lamont Paris | $2,200,000 |
57 | LSU | SEC | Matt McMahon | $2,200,000 |
58 | St Louis | A10 | Travis Ford | $2,100,000 |
59 | Kansas State | Big 12 | Jerome Tang | $2,100,000 |
60 | Utah | Pac 12 | Craig Smith | $2,100,000 |
61 | Rhode Island | A10 | Archie Miller | $2,000,000 |
62 | SMU | AAC | Rob Lanier | $2,000,000 |
63 | Virginia Tech | ACC | Mike Young | $2,000,000 |
64 | Wake Forest | ACC | Steve Forbes | $2,000,000 |
65 | Rhode Island | Atlantic 10 | Archie Miller | $2,000,000 |
66 | Penn State | Big Ten | Micah Shrewsberry | $2,000,000 |
67 | Gonzaga | West Coast | Mark Few | $2,000,000 |
68 | Minnesota | Big Ten | Ben Johnson | $1,950,000 |
69 | Creighton | Big East | Greg McDermot | $1,926,881 |
70 | Wisconsin | Big Ten | Greg Gard | $1,900,000 |
71 | Dayton | A10 | Anthony Grant | $1,830,000 |
72 | St. Bonaventure | A10 | Mark Schmidt | $1,800,000 |
73 | Clemson | ACC | Brad Brownell | $1,800,000 |
74 | North Carolina | ACC | Hubert Davis | $1,750,000 |
75 | Oklahoma State | Big 12 | Mike Boynton | $1,725,000 |
76 | Miami | ACC | Jim Larranaga | $1,700,000 |
77 | Rutgers | Big Ten | Steve Pikiell | $1,700,000 |
78 | Butler | Big East | Thad Matta | $1,687,863 |
79 | Notre Dame | ACC | Mike Brey | $1,680,981 |
80 | UMass | A10 | Frank Martin | $1,650,000 |
81 | USF | AAC | Brian Gregory | $1,600,000 |
82 | California | Pac 12 | Mark Fox | $1,600,000 |
83 | VCU | A10 | Mike Rhoads | $1,500,000 |
84 | Iowa State | Big 12 | T.J. Otzelberger | $1,500,000 |
85 | Depaul | Big East | Tony Stubblefield | $1,500,000 |
86 | Washington State | Pac 12 | Kyle Smith | $1,400,000 |
87 | San Diego St | MWC | Brian Dutcher | 1,310,000 |
88 | Tulsa | AAC | Erick Konkol | $1,300,000 |
89 | Cincinnati | AAC | Wes Miller | $1,250,000 |
90 | BYU | West Coast | Mark Pope | $1,250,000 |
91 | Tulane | AAC | Ron Hunter | $1,200,000 |
92 | Nevada | MWC | Steve Alford | $1,150,000 |
93 | Richmond | A10 | Chris Mooney | $1,100,000 |
94 | Loyola Chicago | A10 | Drew Valentine | $1,100,000 |
95 | UCF | AAC | Johnny Dawkins | $1,100,000 |
96 | Temple | AAC | Aaron McKie | $1,100,000 |
97 | Colorado State | MWC | Niko Medved | $1,100,000 |
98 | Duquesne | A10 | Keith Dambrot | $1,000,000 |
99 | Wichita State | AAC | Isaac Brown | $1,000,000 |
100 | Iona | MAAC | Rick Pitinio | $1,000,000 |
101 | George Mason | A10 | Kim English | $925,000 |
102 | ECU | AAC | Michael Schwartz | $900,000 |
103 | Boise State | MWC | Leon Rice | $900,000 |
104 | UAB | CUSA | Andy Kennedy | $900,000 |
105 | Saint Mary’s | West Coast | Randy Bennett | $800,000 |
106 | Fresno State | MWC | Justin Hutson | $800,000 |
107 | Utah State | MWC | Ryan Odom | $800,000 |
108 | Belmont | MVC | Casey Alexander | $800,000 |
109 | Drake | MVC | Darian DeVries | $800,000 |
110 | New Mexico | MWC | Richard Pitino | $775,000 |
111 | UNLV | MWC | Kevin Kruger | $770,000 |
112 | UTEP Miners | CUSA | Joe Golding | $725,000 |
113 | La Salle | A10 | Fran Dunphy | $724,000 |
114 | Wyoming | MWC | Jeff Linder | $700,000 |
115 | San Jose State | MWC | Tim Miles | $700,000 |
116 | Bradley | Missouri Valley | Brian Wardle | $681,886 |
117 | Akron | MAC | John Groce | $650,000 |
118 | Western Kentucky Hilltoppers | CUSA | Rick Stansbury | $650,000 |
119 | North Texas | CUSA | Grant McCasland | $650,000 |
120 | Charlotte | Conference USA | Ron Sanchez | $650,000 |
121 | Louisiana | Sun Belt | Bob Marlin | $642,000 |
122 | Davidson | A10 | Matt McKillop | $600,000 |
123 | Ohio | MAC | Jeff Boals | $581,000 |
124 | Middle Tennessee | CUSA | Nick McDevitt | $575,000 |
125 | Illinois State | Missouri Valley | Dan Muller | $564,000 |
126 | Old Dominion | CUSA | Jeff Jones | $550,000 |
127 | Wright State Raiders | Horizon League | Scott Nagy | $500,000 |
128 | Southern Illinois | Missouri Valley | Bryan Mullins | $475,000 |
129 | Monmouth | MAAC | King Rice | $446,448 |
130 | Towson | CAA | Pat Skerry | $445,000 |
131 | Central Michigan | MAC | Tony Barbee | $420,000 |
132 | Marshall | CUSA | Dan D’Antoni | $420,000 |
133 | Bowling Green | MAC | Michael Huger | $415,000 |
134 | Toledo | MAC | Tod Kowalczyk | $415,000 |
135 | Northern Kentucky | Horizon League | Darrin Horn | $400,000 |
136 | Florida Atlantic | CUSA | Dusty May | $390,000 |
137 | Manhattan | MAAC | Steve Masiello | $389,383 |
138 | Kent State | MAC | Rob Senderoff | $385,000 |
139 | Arkansas State | Sun Belt | Mike Balado | $375,000 |
140 | Missouri State | Missouri Valley | Dana Ford | $375,000 |
141 | Stephen F. Austin | Southland | Kyle Keller | $375,000 |
142 | Stony Brook | America East | Geno Ford | $365,000 |
143 | UC Irvine | Big West | Russell Turner | $364,000 |
144 | UC Santa Barbara | Big West | Joe Pasternack | $357,489 |
145 | Cal Poly | Big West | John Smith | $350,004 |
146 | UC Davis | Big West | Jim Les | $350,000 |
147 | Indiana State | Missouri Valley | Josh Schertz | $334,000 |
148 | Hawaii | Big West | Eran Ganot | $330,000 |
149 | UTSA Roadrunners | CUSA | Steve Henson | $325,000 |
150 | Vermont Catamounts | America East | John Becker | $318,270 |
151 | Southern Miss | CUSA | Jay Ladner | $315,000 |
152 | Oakland | Horizon League | Greg Kampe | $301,165 |
153 | Coastal Carolina | Sun Belt | Cliff Ellis | $300,409 |
154 | Appalachian State | Sun Belt | Dustin Kerns | $300,000 |
155 | Florida International | CUSA | Jeremy Ballard | $300,000 |
156 | Morgan State | MEAC | Kevin Broadus | $300,000 |
157 | Long Beach State | Big West | Dan Monson | $283,560 |
158 | South Dakota State | Summit | Eric Henderson | $275,000 |
159 | Austin Peay | Ohio Valley | Matt Figger | $270,000 |
160 | Cal State Fullerton | Big West | Dedrique Taylor | $257,508 |
161 | UMass Lowell | America East | Pat Duquette | $250,113 |
162 | Little Rock | Sun Belt | Darrell Walker | $250,000 |
163 | North Carolina Central | MEAC | LeVelle Moton | $250,000 |
164 | Texas Southern | SWAC | Johnny Jones | $250,000 |
165 | Cal State Bakersfield | WAC | Rod Barnes | $244,765 |
Fordham | A10 | Keith Urgo | NA | |
St. Joseph?s | A10 | Billy Lange | NA | |
George Washington | A10 | Chris Caputo | NA | |
Stanford | Pac 12 | Jerod Haase | NA | |
Air Force | MWC | Joe Scott | NA |
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