money The Highest-Paid College Basketball Coaches in America
After last year’s NCAA Tournament was canceled because of the COVID-19 pandemic, college basketball fans are thrilled that the tournament is set to return this year.
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March Madness is always a thrill, and often the biggest stars are the coaches. Players come and go, so programs are often best-known because of high-profile coaches such as Duke’s Mike Krzyzewski and Michigan State’s Tom Izzo.
Although those big names are certainly well paid, some of the other names on the list of college basketball’s highest-paid coaches will surprise you. Read on to see the top 20.
Last updated: March 15, 2021
20. Lon Kruger
School: Oklahoma
Conference: Big 12
School pay: $3,300,000
Total Pay: $3,300,000
Maximum Bonus: $270,000
Kruger is one of only two coaches to lead five different teams to the NCAA Tournament. He led Florida and Oklahoma to Final Fours in his career.
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19. Archie Miller
School: Indiana
Conference: Big Ten
School pay: $3,300,000
Total Pay: $3,300,000
Maximum Bonus: $1,035,000
Miller, the brother to Arizona head coach Sean Miller, took over at Indiana after a successful six-year run at Dayton, including an Elite Eight berth in 2014. Archie’s Indiana tenure hasn’t seen the same success, as the Hoosiers have yet to make the NCAA Tournament. As a result, it was announced on March 15 that he was let go.
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18. Shaka Smart
School: Texas
Conference: Big 12
School pay: $3,300,000
Total Pay: $3,300,989
Maximum Bonus: $795,000
Smart has been head coach at Texas since 2015, making the NCAA Tournament now three times including this year. He came from Virginia Commonwealth University, where he led the Rams to five NCAA tourney berths, including a run to the Final Four in 2011.
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17. Tony Bennett
School: Virginia
Conference: ACC
School pay: $3,307,500
Total Pay: $3,307,500
Maximum Bonus: $1,450,000
Bennett led the Cavaliers to the 2019 NCAA Tournament championship, a breakthrough after several seasons of early flameouts in the tourney. The title was all the more remarkable because in 2018, Virginia became the first No. 1 men’s seed to lose in the first round.
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16. Scott Drew
School: Baylor
Conference: Big 12
School pay: $3,303,435
Total Pay: $3,303,435
Maximum Bonus: $0
Drew took over at Baylor in 2003 after Dave Bliss resigned under a cloud of scandal. Most of the players had transferred after the school had allowed everyone a full release from their scholarships in the wake of Bliss’ firing and subsequent NCAA sanctions. Drew has rebuilt Baylor, leading it to now nine NCAA Tournament berths.
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15. Jamie Dixon
School: Texas Christian
Conference: Big 12
School pay: $3,423,401
Total Pay: $3,423,401
Maximum Bonus: $0
Dixon came back to coach his alma mater, TCU, in 2016, after a successful stint at Pitt. He has led the Horned Frogs to an NCAA Tournament appearance and an NIT Championship, and he led the Panthers to 11 NCAA Tournaments in 13 seasons.
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14. Larry Krystkowiak
School: Utah
Conference: Pac-12
School pay: $3,762,876
Total Pay: $3,762,876
Maximum Bonus: $280,000
The former NBA star has been head coach at Utah since 2011 and has taken the Utes to two NCAA Tournament appearances.
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13. Bruce Pearl
School: Auburn
Conference: SEC
School pay: $3,800,000
Total Pay: $3,840,366
Maximum Bonus: $925,000
Pearl came to Auburn after serving a three-year penalty from the NCAA that prevented him from coaching. He had been penalized for recruiting violations at his previous job at Tennessee. Pearl has taken the Tigers to two NCAA Tournament berths. He is the second-fastest coach to reach 300 victories in his career, needing just 382 games.
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12. Buzz Williams
School: Texas A&M
Conference: SEC
School pay: $3,843,182
Total Pay: $3,843,182
Maximum Bonus: $850,000
Williams jumped to Texas A&M in 2019 after successful stints at Marquette and Virginia Tech. He has been to eight NCAA Tournaments in 13 seasons as a head coach.
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11. Bob Huggins
School: West Virginia
Conference: Big 12
School pay: $3,950,000
Total Pay: $3,950,000
Maximum Bonus: $640,000
Nicknamed “Huggy Bear,” Huggins is one of only 10 head coaches with 800 or more victories. From 1989-2005, he led Cincinnati to 14 NCAA Tournaments, including a Final Four in 1992. After one season at Kansas State, Huggins jumped to West Virginia, where he has taken the Mountaineers to nine NCAA Tournaments and is taking them to No. 10 this year.
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10. Bill Self
School: Kansas
Conference: Big 12
School pay: $3,881,857
Total Pay: $3,985,857
Maximum Bonus: $525,000
Self has been head coach at Kansas since 2003, enjoying a highly successful run. Under his reign, the Jayhawks won the 2008 championship and reached Final Fours in 2012 and 2018. Kansas has made the NCAA Tournament every year under Self.
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9. Chris Mack
School: Louisville
Conference: ACC
School pay: $4,007,494
Total Pay: $4,067,494
Maximum Bonus: $475,000
Mack is in his third season at Louisville, having led the Cardinals to the NCAA Tournament in his first year before the Big Dance was canceled in 2020.
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8. Roy Williams
School: North Carolina
Conference: ACC
School pay: $2,385,409
Total Pay: $4,102,409
Maximum Bonus: $1,024,617
Williams, who played at North Carolina and served as an assistant under legendary coach Dean Smith, has established an impressive legacy of his own with the Tar Heels. After a long run at Kansas, where he led the Jayhawks to two runner-up finishes, Williams jumped to North Carolina in 2003. The coach has won three national championships with the Heels.
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7. Tom Izzo
School: Michigan State
Conference: Big Ten
School pay: $3,743,070
Total Pay: $4,191,070
Maximum Bonus: $600,000
Izzo, the longest-tenured coach in the Big Ten, has a long history of success with the Spartans. He won a national championship in 2000 and has taken Michigan State to an impressive eight Final Fours.
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6. Jay Wright
School: Villanova
Conference: Big East
School pay: $4,410,304
Total Pay: $4,410,304
Maximum Bonus: $0
The dapper Wright, known for the suits he wears on the sidelines, has been at Villanova since 2001, leading the Wildcats to the 2016 championship and the Final Four in 2009.
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5. Chris Beard
School: Texas Tech
Conference: Big 12
School pay: $4,200,000
Total Pay: $4,443,000
Maximum Bonus: $500,000
Beard has been at Texas Tech since 2016, leading the Red Raiders to an Elite Eight (2018) and runner-up appearance (2019).
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4. Rick Barnes
School: Tennessee
Conference: SEC
School pay: $4,700,000
Total Pay: $4,700,000
Maximum Bonus: $3,000,000
Barnes has been a head coach since 1987, with stints at George Mason, Providence, Clemson, Texas and Tennessee. He has 24 NCAA Tournament appearances, including a Final Four with Texas in 2003. And he can add another NCAA Tournament appearance to his list because Tennessee will be going back this year.
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3. Mick Cronin
School: UCLA
Conference: Pac-12
School pay: $5,500,000
Total Pay: $5,500,000
Maximum Bonus: $300,000
Cronin took over at UCLA in 2019 after a highly successful career at Cincinnati. He took the Bearcats to nine NCAA Tournaments in 13 seasons.
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2. Mike Krzyzewski
School: Duke
Conference: ACC
School pay: $7,256,924
Total Pay: $7,256,924
Maximum Bonus: $0
Krzyzewski is one of the deans of college basketball, having led Duke since 1980. Under Coach K, the Blue Devils have won five national championships and 12 Final Fours. He is the winningest coach in Division I men’s basketball history, with more than 1,000 wins.
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1. John Calipari
School: Kentucky
Conference: SEC
School pay: $8,000,000
Total Pay: $8,158,000
Maximum Bonus: $50,000
Calipari has coached Kentucky to four Final Fours, winning the 2012 title, after previously leading Massachusetts and Memphis to Final Fours in 1996 and 2009 (Those titles were later vacated because of NCAA sanctions). Calipari is one of the first coaches to embrace the “one and done,” signing star recruits who would leave for the NBA after one season. Under Calipari from 2002-2018, Kentucky had 25 players chosen in the first round of the NBA draft.
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Methodology: GOBankingRates used USAToday’s NCAAB Coaches salary data to find the top paid coaches at the Division I level. For each coach, GOBankingRates reported their (1) school pay (the most recently available base salary); (2) their total pay (sum of school pay and income listed on the coach’s most recently available, self-reported athletically related outside-income report); and (3) their maximum potential bonus. All data is the most recently released and not all schools were represented as some private institutions do not release employee pay. All data was collected and up to date as of Feb. 24, 2021.
This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: The Highest-Paid College Basketball Coaches in America
