With March Madness just around the corner, fans are gearing up for another exciting NCAA basketball tournament.
While college basketball may be fun and games for some, it’s also a highly lucrative business, and college basketball coaches take home multi-million dollar paychecks.
In many cases, these contracts can make high-profile coaches at public universities the highest-paid government employees in their state. University of Kentucky basketball coach John Calipari makes almost $8 million a year, while the state’s governor, Matt Bevin, makes closer to $138,012 a year.
USA Today compiled compensation information for the top-earning NCAA coaches in 2018, including bonuses and buyouts. Here are the highest-paid NCAA basketball coaches:
School: Indiana University
Conference: Big Ten
Total pay: $3,200,000
School pay: $3,200,000
Max bonus: $1,035,000
Bonuses paid as of 2018: N/A
School buyout as of 2018: $20,477,397
School: University of Michigan
Conference: Big Ten
Total pay: $3,370,000
School pay: $3,370,000
Max bonus: $250,000
Bonuses paid as of 2018: $100,000
School buyout as of 2018: $5,000,000
School: University of Utah
Conference: Pac-12
Total pay: $3,390,000
School pay: $3,390,000
Max bonus: $280,000
Bonuses paid as of 2018: $80,000
School buyout as of 2018: $15,750,000
School: West Virginia University
Conference: Big 12
Total pay: $3,760,000
School pay: $3,750,000
Max bonus: $640,000
Bonuses paid as of 2018: $175,000
School buyout as of 2018: $11,015,000
School: University of Arizona
Conference: Pac-12
Total pay: $4,054,853
School pay: $3,654,853
Max bonus: $1,260,000
Bonuses paid as of 2018: $290,000
School buyout as of 2018: $5,033,334
School: Michigan State University
Conference: Big Ten
Total pay: $4,359,979
School pay: $3,652,979
Max bonus: $350,000
Bonuses paid as of 2018: $25,000
School buyout as of 2018: $5,216,388
School: University of Kansas
Conference: Big 12
Total pay: $4,954,877
School pay: $4,779,877
Max bonus: $525,000
Bonuses paid as of 2018: $88,333
School buyout as of 2018: $16,156,000
School: Ohio State University
Conference: Big Ten
Total pay: $7,149,849
School pay: $7,149,849
Max bonus: $390,000
Bonuses paid as of 2018: N/A
School buyout as of 2018: $19,575,000
School: University of Kentucky
Conference: SEC
Total pay: $7,994,147
School pay: $7,450,000
Max bonus: $50,000
Bonuses paid as of 2018: $50,000
School buyout as of 2018: $30,000,000
School: Duke University
Conference: ACC
Total pay: $8,982,325
School pay: $8,982,325
Max bonus: N/A
Bonuses paid as of 2018: N/A
School buyout as of 2018: N/A
Mike Krzyzewski, also known as “Coach K” is the highest-paid college basketball coach in the U.S. according to USA Today. The Duke University coach reportedly made almost $9 million in 2018, more than double what he earned in 2011, $4,195,519, when he became Division I men’s basketball’s career wins leader.
Krzyzewski is the only coach from the ACC conference to crack the top 10, and Calipari is the only coach from the SEC. Four coaches from the Big Ten (Chris Holtmann, Tom Izzo, John Beilein and Archie Miller), two coaches from the Pac-12 (Sean Miller and Larry Krystkowiak) and two coaches from the Big 12 (Bill Self and Bob Huggins) made the list.
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