College Coach’s Salaries: SEC

Last Updated on June 5, 2014

How do SEC coaches stack up against coaches in other conferences in terms of their salaries?  Which SEC school’s coaches are the highest paid?

The data used for this analysis was obtained from reports filed by each school with the U.S. Department of Education, as required by Title IX.  These reports are the only public documentation  providing numbers for every school, because private schools are not subject to public records requests, yet have to file their data with the U.S. Department of Education.  The data reported is from the reporting year of July 1, 2010 through June 30, 2011.

SCHOOL	HEAD COACH AVERAGE ANNUAL INSTITUTIONAL SALARY	ASST. COACH AVERAGE ANNUAL INSTITUTIONAL SALARY
Alabama	Men’s:  $1,054,830.00	Men’s:  $216,450.00
	Women’s:  $149,984.00	Women’s:  $64,246.00
Arkansas	Men’s: $977,831.00	Men’s:  $204,142.00
	Women’s:  $158,592.00	Women’s:  $66,541.00
Auburn	Men’s:  $1,118,303.00	Men’s:  $312,993.00
	Women’s:  $202,342.00	Women’s:  $72,264.00
Florida	Men’s:  $1,546,853.00	Men’s:  $181,851.00
	Women’s:  $209,501.00	Women’s:  $71,580.00
Georgia	Men’s:  $841,657.00	Men’s:  $152,310.00
	Women’s:  $200,134.00	Women’s:  $66,269.00
Kentucky	Men’s:  $861,419.00	Men’s:  $138,922.00
	Women’s:  $154,915.00	Women’s:  $49,080.00
LSU	Men’s:  $776,300.00	Men’s:  $258,108.00
	Women’s:  $211,659.00	Women’s:  $85,851.00
Ole Miss	Men’s:  $841,650.00	Men’s:  $153,797.00
	Women’s:  $119,738.00	Women’s:  $46,864.00
Mississippi State	Men’s:  $809,698.00	Men’s:  $199,894.00
	Women’s:  $117,846.00	Women’s:  $56,820.00
South Carolina	Men’s:  $213,322.00	Men’s:  $111,379.00
	Women’s:  $115,254.00	Women’s:  $49,393.00
Tennessee	Men’s:  $675,582.00	Men’s:  $193,061.00
	Women’s:  $328,258.00	Women’s:  $83,863.00
Vanderbilt	Men’s:  $959,572.00	Men’s:  $232,095.00
	Women’s:  $227,872.00	Women’s:  $84,573.00

Florida boasts the highest average salary for head coaches of men’s sports at $1,546,843.00.  South Carolina on the other hand, has both the lowest average men’s and women’s head coaching salaries.  The highest average women’s head coaching salary is found at Tennessee, which paid its women’s sports head coaches $328,258.00 on average in 2010-11.

Remember, that the data reported is from the period of July 1, 2010 through June 30, 2011.  Arguably, the salaries driving the high averages for men’s sports coaches at Florida and women’s sports coaches at Tennessee are those of each respective school’s most-recognized program.  Florida head football coach Will Muschamp is set to receive $13,752,000.00 over the course of his five-year contract with the University of Florida.  Tennessee women’s basketball head coach, Pat Summit, is arguably one of the most-respected coaches in all of women’s sports.  In 2006, Summit became the first women’s basketball coach to receive a $1 million salary.  Her salary is expected to reach $1.5 million this season.

As with the Pac-12, there is disparity between the salaries of coaches of men’s sports and women’s sports.  On average, head coaches of men’s sports in the SEC make 4.86 times as much as head coaches of women’s sports.  This disparity is larger than that of the Pac-12, where head coaches of men’s sports make 3.2 times as much as head coaches of women’s sports.  Assistant coaches of men’s sports make 2.95 times as much as assistant coaches of women’s sports, on average.

Head coaches of men’s sports make 4.53 times as much as their assistants, on average, while head coaches of women’s sports make 2.75 times as much as their assistants, on average.  The disparity between men’s head and assistant coaches is also higher in the SEC than the Pac-12.  Men’s head coaches in the Pac-12 make 3.33 more than their assistants.  The disparity between women’s head and assistant coaches is equal in the SEC and Pac-12, as women’s sports head coaches earn 2.75 times as much than their assistants on average in both conferences.

Next week, BusinessofCollegeSports.com will explore coach’s salaries in the Big East and ACC.