Why Should Notre Dame's Football Coach Make More Than Tenured Professors?

Parents Forum
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<p>[Why</a> should Notre Dame’s football coach make more than tenured professors? - Yahoo! News](<a href=“http://news.yahoo.com/s/csm/20090926/cm_csm/yrosenberg]Why”>http://news.yahoo.com/s/csm/20090926/cm_csm/yrosenberg)</p>

<p>Why should any college football/basketball/etc. coach make more than tenured professors? </p>

<p>I have often wondered about this. With so many colleges and universities struggling to make ends meet, it seems like the money brought in through athletics could be put to better use than paying outrageous salaries for the coaches. (Come on, are these guys REALLY worth millions of dollars? Seems like they are replaced at the drop of a hat. Kind of like a dime a dozen.) I had a friend who (illegally) looked up the SAT scores of football players at a big university and, lo and behold, some of these guys would NEVER get into college under any other circumstance than being a great athlete. Aren’t they just taking up space that could be used by a student who WANTS to get a higher education degree and is qualified to do so?</p>

<p>I’ve watched sky boxes and extra rows added to the school’s stadium while labs and academic buildings crumble. Is there a reason the athletic money isn’t being used for academic purposes?</p>

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<p>When asked why he made more than the President, Babe Ruth replied, “I had a better year.”</p>

<p>I don’t think that applies to Charlie Weiss.</p>

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<p>Are coaches paid out of the same budget as professors? I always assumed the coaches were paid out of team revenue and that athletics programs were self-funded.</p>

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<p>Notre Dame is a poor example to cite. They have the highest athlete graduation rate in the country–graduating 100% of their athletes in many sports and I believe, (don’t have time to look up the cite right now) the highest percentage in football and basketball. Didn’t a sports commentator (Paul Hornung?) get into lots of trouble for saying they were no longer as competitive because they wouldn’t lower their academic standards for athletes?</p>

<p>Their revenue sports pour huge amounts of money into the school and its educational mission. I know ND in particular has all sorts of rules in place regarding this–for every athletic building built, an academic one must also be built, etc. You won’t see labs and academic buildings there crumble while the stadium shines.</p>

<p>I am not so sure in regard to academic standards of athletes at football/basketball powerhouses and the money spent on sports at these schools (well, pretty sure the academic standards are lower…) but if someone picks on Notre Dame for these issues, they don’t know the facts. Then again, that article didn’t cite many facts.</p>

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<p>DB - I think you’re right about coaches being paid out of team revenues. I can’t figure out why team revenue isn’t part of the university’s revenue, i.e., why those funds can’t/aren’t used to fund academic needs. I know at UF the band director is paid significantly more than the other music professors. His money partially comes from athletics. Why not other music professors, or any professors, on campus? Just saying I think revenues from athletics should be used to help the university/college as a whole. Why not?</p>

<p>Something else to think about: Are college teams now just business investments for outside investors? I’m thinking specifically of the the Yella Fella’s influence at Auburn. Having a say-so in the choice of coach - Really?</p>

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<p>Not that I agree but it’s a simple fact of life in our world today: He/his program/his players and team bring in more money to the university than pretty much anybody else. If they don’t keep him happy, he’ll go somewhere else and get the same big bucks. His job–any big name coaching job for that matter–is very high profile and pressure-packed. I’d say it’s similar to the same reason CEOs make so much money–they aren’t worth it, but they can get it! Like it or not, money is the name of the game!</p>

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<p>sryrstress - Thanks for the info. This is what I’m looking for - info on how money from athletics is used to help a university’s mission as a whole. Good for ND if they set standards of use for the funds. Question: What professors at ND make the same salary as the ND football coach?</p>

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<p>Also, don’t feel horrible about the tenured profs salary, they get a very good perk. In the prof world it is call WRITE OR DIE. The book for ECON that your child just bought at a whopping $200 on, is probably written by them… Also, I know for UMDCP, they have a reknown political and govt program, on their resumes, they state consultant for X, advisor to Y, etc. These profs are not making millions, but they are making more than just their salary.</p>

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<p>bandp: SOME profs are making more than just their salaries. I know many profs who work second jobs such as dancing for a professional dance troop, designing the set for a local theatre, or teaching a course at a professional organization during the summer to bring in extra income. Even with the extra job, very few (if any) professors are making anywhere near the same salary as the football/basketball coach at their university/college. The presidents of universities don’t make the same money as the coaches. </p>

<p>Also, what about the student athletes who are taking away slots from students who want to study academic subjects and are more qualified to do so?</p>

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<p>Yeah, pick on other schools. Schools like Notre Dame and Penn State have programs that pay for themselves…and more. PSU’s football program funds a lot of the less popular athletic programs. Both schools have high graduation rates.
Now, the coach at ND, I agree he’s not worth it. He’s been a total bust. I think coaching in the NFL is a whole different deal than coaching college. I believe they gave him a 10-year contract though so they’re stuck.
The way I see it, if you don’t like sports, go to a school that doesn’t put an emphasis on it. Tufts, or U Chicago. Even McGill up in Cananda…a great bargain. For many kids, it’s a fun part of the social environment and a glue that binds them to the school for the rest of their lives. As long as they’re not taking money away from the school, let them be. Salaries are not always fair. Why does Julia Roberts make more than Obama?</p>

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<p>I do agree as I said they are not making millions, but as stated before their salary is actually tied to the sports revenues, so it is no harm, no foul for a DIV I school. In essence, many times the amount of tv revenue, is shared with the school. Think about it, when you park at these games it is not free, that goes into the school pot. At UMD, they have the Comcast Arena, had Williams never won the NCAA, they would probably be still in Cole Field House. Comcast pays for their name on it.</p>

<p>Well for many Div I colleges it is true, that they are not as qualified, but for schools like DUKE and ND that is not true. These kids are also academically gifted. However, let’s take a school like UCLA. The fact is the football team might be 200 kids total out of 10K student, it truly is very very nominal, basically 2% of their population, and I am guessing UCLA has more than 10K students.</p>

<p>Finally, you are jumping to the conclusion that all of them have onlythe ability to get a ged. Many of these kids did and do have a lower gpa, but as a Mom who has a child in football (he is 2nd string, no chance of scholarships). He goes to school at 6:30 and gets home at 6 at night, 5 days a week, when it is not game night (than it is 10 pm). Teachers don’t care they had a game the night before, it’s not an excuse. His gpa might be a .1 less than another student who did not get accepted, but during the summer he was on the football field from 6:30 am to 4 pm, 5 days a week. ECs are becoming more important in college acceptances, they are looking at the whole student, since statistically the rounded student can adapt more than the book student when they get to college. They have lived their life with time management, and the demand that they must carry a certain gpa is a motivator.</p>

<p>Granted, many colleges do have basket weaving 101, but many kids like my nephew who was recruited by OSU, and played for 4 yrs, realized he was never going professional he made sure that he took “real” courses and graduated in 4 yrs with a business degree and a 3.4 gpa. I read somewhere that the avg college kid now grads in 5 yrs with an undergrad.</p>

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<p>I would also add that the revenue that comes from a big D1 football program comes in many forms - at the UT-Tech game, the stadium was filled to capacity with over 100,000 screaming fans who were wearing UT or Tech gear - that was all bought through a licensed deal with the universities. The fans went by the University Coop to buy their stuff. They parked their cars, paying fees to do so. They bought concessions at outrageous prices. The network that televised the game paid an enormous sum of money to both universities to do do. If they make it to a bowl game, the schools, and the conference they are in, get a big fat paycheck. </p>

<p>I could go on, but you get the idea.</p>

<p>As someone else mentioned - the big football programs bring in a ton of cash that not only self supports football, but also pays to support the other, less revenue friendly sports (woman’s crew, etc.), and you can bet that a portion of the money makes it into the general revenue fund as well. </p>

<p>These activities bring spice to the college experience - whether you suit up and head to the big football game, or whether you sit by the shore of Town Lake to watch the rowing teams, and you can thank big time athletics for funding them.</p>

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<p>Notre Dame is a private school, so they can spend their money however they choose. They can pay janitors more than tenured professors if they so choose. Not that the situation is any better at athletic powerhouse public schools. In some of those state universities the football coach is the highest-paid public official in the entire state - making even more than the governor.</p>

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<p>Well, JoePa doesn’t make all that much.
[Penn</a> State coach Joe Paterno’s salary – more than $500,000 – finally revealed - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review](<a href=“http://pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/breaking/s_540388.html?source=rss&feed=7]Penn”>http://pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/breaking/s_540388.html?source=rss&feed=7)</p>

<p>But I believe Tressler at Ohio State makes over 2 million.
And that Alabama guy…4 million. Wow.
It does seem a bit out of control…</p>

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<p>A successful sports program not only generates cash for the athletic fund but also raises and or keeps the name of the university in peoples’ minds. At Boston College it became known as the Flutie Effect ([Flutie</a> Effect - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia](<a href=“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flutie_Effect]Flutie”>Flutie effect - Wikipedia)). It is a documented case of a school rising in academic stature based on the publicity generated by the football program. BC didn’t become a better school because Doug Flutie played there, people just learned what a good place it was because of him. Notre Dame has its own television contract, breaks during the game featuring idyllic shots of campus and student life act as none too subtle advertisements for the university.</p>

<p>Money flows in through ticket sales, television contracts, licensing agreements and perhaps most subtly, alumni donations. Like it or not sports act as a connection for long graduated alums who can go into work on Monday and puff out their chests and talk about good old ND. It generates cash for the university though it would be probably impossible to get a sense of how much of those donations are the result of sports prominence. </p>

<p>As has been pointed out, most big time Division 1 athletic departments are self-contained, often profit making, departments that do have overhead assessments from the university that they pay for. Finally, there is only 1 head football coach and only 1 head basketball coach versus 100s in not 1000s of professors, assistant professors and TAs. A successful coach will generate far more revenue for a university than any individual professor. Believe me, if a university had a professor of Ancient Etruscan Pottery who could fill 80,000 $55 seats 8 times a year, she would be getting paid millions as well.</p>

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<p>Yeah and would you rather have JoePa or Charlie Weiss?</p>

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<p>As an ND parent I’d rather have Weiss. One other thing to consider is that alot of the coaches income comes from their own tv shows, radio shows, advertising. Theres no reason why professors can’t get money on the side-and many do-just like football coaches.</p>

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<p>There are fewer good coaches than good professors. A school (or any organization) is going to try to pay as little as possible for its employees. There is no right or wrong to it. If ND could get a good coach for 50,000, I am sure it would.</p>

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<p>^^And if they could get a good coach for $50,000,000, that would work as well^^
;)</p>

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<p>Supply and demand. Also profs have jobs for life in most cases while coaches–not so much.</p>