Should the highest paid college football coaches give back 10 percent of their salaries for 2020 to their universities? Their salaries are close to $150 million. Dr. Eric Barron of Penn State has asked his top management employees at PSU to do so
Nick Saban, Alabama, and Dabo Swinney, Clemson earned
$18 million collectively in 2019
Photo: USA Today
… should the university/college focus be on education, not athletics?
If Dabo Swinney would earn the same amount as he did last year over the next decade, the Clemson football coach would be a $100 million man. Would this money be better spent on the students at Clemson instead of the athletes?
In addition, the problem in 2020 is that no one even knows if the season will take place at all because of the coronavirus, so paying a salary like that could be outrageous.
As a result of what the universities and colleges had to undergo this spring, they have lost tens — and possibly even a hundred — million dollars. Penn State president Eric Barron said Thursday that the school is projected to lose “at least $260 million over the next 14 months,” according to the Centre Daily Times.
Barron asked all top PSU administrators to take a 10 percent pay cut. He is going to do so, but no one mentioned if football Coach James Franklin, the highest paid university employee at $5.6 million per year, will do so.
However, a look at the 2019 salaries of the top 25 coaches is appalling in one sense: Why are any higher education institutions paying 25 employees a collective total of almost $150 million.
I would hate to see the 2020 football season cancelled, but I do think that universities should focus on the 99 percent of their students who are not scholarship athletes instead of the 1 percent who are.
And making things worse, why should a football coach make ten times as much as a university president. The priorities of higher education are out of whack, and they have been for many years.
Salaries from 2019
According to the USA Today database of coaches’ salaries, the top 25, only two of whom have won national championships, are the ones listed below,
2019 salaries
1. Dabo Swinney, Clemson, $9,315,600
2. Nick Saban, Alabama, $8,857,000
3. Jim Harbaugh, Michigan, $7,504,000
4. Jimbo Fisher, Texas A&M, $7,500,000
5. Kirby Smart, Georgia, $6,871,600
6. Gus Malzahn, Auburn, $6,827,589
7. Tom Herman, Texas, $6,750,000
8. Jeff Brohm, Purdue, $6,600,000
9. Lincoln Riley, Oklahoma, $6,384,462
10. Dan Mullen, Florida, $6,070,000
11. James Franklin, Penn State, $5,650,000
12. Pat Fitzgerald, Northwestern, $5,144,937
13. Mike Gundy, Oklahoma State, $5,125,000
14. Scott Frost, Nebraska, $5,000,000
15. Willie Taggart, Florida State (fired) $5,000,000
16. Charlie Strong, South Florida (fired), $5,000,000
17. Gary Patterson, TCU, $4,900,776
18. Kirk Ferentz, Iowa, $4,800,000
19. Mark Stoops, Kentucky, $4,763,600
20. Chris Petersen, Washington (resigned), $4,625,000
21. David Shaw, Stanford, $4,613,707
22. Ryan Day, Ohio State, $4,500,000
23. Will Muschamp, South Carolina, $4,400,000
24. Mark Dantonio, Michigan State, $4,399,437
25. Paul Chryst, Wisconsin, $4,150,000
Penn State will cut 3 percent, furlough employees
President Barron did not outline exactly where Penn State will make its cuts, but most universities are facing the same uncertainties as he is,
With Penn State facing at least $260 million in projected losses over the next 14 months, university President Eric Barron announced a series of cuts and belt-tightening measuresearly Thursday evening — including reducing the salaries for some employees who “do not have work they can perform” by 50% through June 30.
In a letter first emailed to university employees, Barron outlined several cost-cutting measures such as a 3% unit reduction that could result in layoffs for the next fiscal year and deferring several capital projects. He also said some employees — namely those in auxiliary units and the Office of Physical Plant — will be paid half their salaries from May 4 through June 30 because the coronavirus is currently preventing them from working “through no fault of their own.”
Barron said the university “believes” the affected employees should also be eligible for unemployment and stimulus support, potentially limiting the financial impact on families.
The number of those affected was not released.
“There are too many uncertainties at this time to make workforce projections after June 30,” Barron wrote, “but we will continue to assess circumstances and provide updates regarding whether further steps are necessary.”
What will happen to universities and their students is a question mark. What will happen to their athletes is even more of one.
As a result of what the universities and colleges had to undergo this spring, they have lost tens — and possibly even a hundred — million dollars. Penn State president Eric Barron said Thursday that the school is projected to lose “at least $260 million over the next 14 months,” according to the Centre Daily Times.
Barron asked all top PSU administrators to take a 10 percent pay cut. He is going to do so, but no one mentioned if football Coach James Franklin, the highest paid university employee at $5.6 million per year, will do so.
However, a look at the 2019 salaries of the top 25 coaches is appalling in one sense: Why are any higher education institutions paying 25 employees a collective total of almost $150 million.
I would hate to see the 2020 football season cancelled, but I do think that universities should focus on the 99 percent of their students who are not scholarship athletes instead of the 1 percent who are.
And making things worse, why should a football coach make ten times as much as a university president. The priorities of higher education are out of whack, and they have been for many years.
Salaries from 2019
According to the USA Today database of coaches’ salaries, the top 25, only two of whom have won national championships, are the ones listed below,
2019 salaries
1. Dabo Swinney, Clemson, $9,315,600
2. Nick Saban, Alabama, $8,857,000
3. Jim Harbaugh, Michigan, $7,504,000
4. Jimbo Fisher, Texas A&M, $7,500,000
5. Kirby Smart, Georgia, $6,871,600
6. Gus Malzahn, Auburn, $6,827,589
7. Tom Herman, Texas, $6,750,000
8. Jeff Brohm, Purdue, $6,600,000
9. Lincoln Riley, Oklahoma, $6,384,462
10. Dan Mullen, Florida, $6,070,000
11. James Franklin, Penn State, $5,650,000
12. Pat Fitzgerald, Northwestern, $5,144,937
13. Mike Gundy, Oklahoma State, $5,125,000
14. Scott Frost, Nebraska, $5,000,000
15. Willie Taggart, Florida State (fired) $5,000,000
16. Charlie Strong, South Florida (fired), $5,000,000
17. Gary Patterson, TCU, $4,900,776
18. Kirk Ferentz, Iowa, $4,800,000
19. Mark Stoops, Kentucky, $4,763,600
20. Chris Petersen, Washington (resigned), $4,625,000
21. David Shaw, Stanford, $4,613,707
22. Ryan Day, Ohio State, $4,500,000
23. Will Muschamp, South Carolina, $4,400,000
24. Mark Dantonio, Michigan State, $4,399,437
25. Paul Chryst, Wisconsin, $4,150,000
James Crabtree-Hannigan, “Dabo Swinney, Nick Saban and the 10 highest-paid
college football coaches in 2019,” Sporting News, 2019
Penn State will cut 3 percent, furlough employees
President Barron did not outline exactly where Penn State will make its cuts, but most universities are facing the same uncertainties as he is,
With Penn State facing at least $260 million in projected losses over the next 14 months, university President Eric Barron announced a series of cuts and belt-tightening measuresearly Thursday evening — including reducing the salaries for some employees who “do not have work they can perform” by 50% through June 30.
In a letter first emailed to university employees, Barron outlined several cost-cutting measures such as a 3% unit reduction that could result in layoffs for the next fiscal year and deferring several capital projects. He also said some employees — namely those in auxiliary units and the Office of Physical Plant — will be paid half their salaries from May 4 through June 30 because the coronavirus is currently preventing them from working “through no fault of their own.”
Barron said the university “believes” the affected employees should also be eligible for unemployment and stimulus support, potentially limiting the financial impact on families.
The number of those affected was not released.
“There are too many uncertainties at this time to make workforce projections after June 30,” Barron wrote, “but we will continue to assess circumstances and provide updates regarding whether further steps are necessary.”
Josh Moyer, “Penn State announces cost-cutting measures,
potential layoffs,” Centre Daily Times, April 23, 2020
What will happen to universities and their students is a question mark. What will happen to their athletes is even more of one.
"There is no educationally-redeeming value to big-time college athletics."
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