You asked for a comparison of UConn basketball and football coach compensation packages with those of other New England states' flagship universities.

SUMMARY

Based on 2008 figures, UConn's football and basketball head coaches earn salaries far in excess of their counterparts at the other New England flagship universities. However, UConn is the only university within the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Big East conference and the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS).

Jim Calhoun, UConn's men's basketball coach, earned a total salary of $ 1. 6 million in 2008. Jim Barron of the University of Rhode Island (URI) earned the next highest reported total salary. He earned $ 603,371 in 2008.

Geno Auriemma, UConn's women's basketball coach, earned $ 1. 05 million in 2008. Tom Garrick of URI earned the next highest reported salary. He earned $ 173,986 in 2008.

Randy Edsall, UConn's football coach, earned $ 0. 995 million in 2008. Darren Rizzi of URI earned the next highest reported salary. He earned $ 227,154 in 2008.

We collected information from an OLR telephone survey of university athletic directors, the U. S. Department of Education Equity in Athletics Commission, as well as Internet research. Massachusetts was the only university that did not respond to our phone survey.

MEN'S BASKETBALL COACHES

All six New England flagship universities maintain a men's basketball program, but only UConn participates in the Big East conference. Table 1 compares salaries and revenue each program generated in 2008.

The majority of Jim Calhoun's $ 1. 6 million compensation is derived from the $ 1. 3 million he earns for participating in media and speaking events. The other supplemental items he receives under contract include a country club membership and free tickets to UConn games.

Jim Calhoun's base and supplemental pay are funded by UConn through Division of Athletics revenue, including ticket sales; television, radio, Big East, and NCAA revenue; private fundraising; and corporate partnerships. Calhoun's contract also contains incentives. He receives one month's base salary for the team making NCAA or National Invitational Tournament (NIT) tournaments, and two months' base salary if the team makes the NCAA Final Four.

Among the universities responding to our inquiries, Jim Baron of URI is the next highest paid men's basketball coach. In 2008, he earned $ 603,371. The majority of his pay was derived from his base pay of $ 310,246. He also received relatively large supplemental payments in the form of gate receipts, which totaled $ 212,914 in 2008. Baron also received fringe benefits totaling $ 68,211, an assigned motor vehicle worth $ 5,000, and payment of country club dues and fees worth $ 7,000. Baron's contract also includes incentives based on his team's success.

According to the U. S. Department of Education's Equity in Athletics Disclosure Act survey, UConn's men's basketball program earned $ 7. 3 million in 2008. This compares to $ 2. 9 million earned by the University of Massachusetts, and $ 2. 3 million earned by the University of Rhode Island. In addition to the revenue that can be attributed to the team directly, each school also reports additional sports revenue that cannot be attributed to a specific team. For 2008, UConn reported an additional $ 26. 5 million of revenue generated by its sports teams; University of Massachusetts reported $ 6. 6 million; University of Maine reported $ 4. 4 million; URI reported $ 5. 75 million; and University of Vermont reported $ 3. 88 million (U. S. Department of Education, the Equity in Athletics Data Analysis Cutting Tool. At: http: //ope. ed. gov/athletics/GetOneInstitutionData. aspx (March, 2009)).

Table 1: New England Flagship University Men's Basketball Coach Earnings and Team Revenue for 2008

*Source: OLR phone survey of university athletic directors, the U. S. Department of Education Equity in Athletics Commission, as well as Internet research.

WOMEN'S BASKETBALL COACHES

Each of the six New England flagship universities maintains a women's basketball program. Like the men's basketball program, UConn is the only team in the Big East conference. Table 2 compares the salaries and revenue each program generated in 2008.

The majority of Geno Auriemma's $ 1. 05 million compensation is derived from the $ 825,000 he earns for participating in media and speaking events. He also receives supplemental items, including a country club membership and free tickets to UConn games. As with Calhoun's compensation package, Auriemma's base and supplemental pay are funded by the university through athletic department revenue. Auriemma's contract also includes incentives.  He receives one month's base salary for participating in NCAA or NIT tournaments and two months' base salary if the team makes the NCAA Final Four.

Tom Garrick of URI is the next highest paid women's basketball coach. He receives the majority of his $ 173,986 pay from his base pay of $ 123,500. He receives supplemental payments in the form of fringe benefits totaling $ 38,486, an assigned motor vehicle worth $ 5,000, and payment of country club dues and fees worth $ 7,000. Garrick's contract also includes incentives based on his team's success.

Table 2: New England Flagship University Women's Basketball Coach Earnings and Team Revenue for 2008

*Source: OLR phone survey of university athletic directors, the U. S. Department of Education Equity in Athletics Commission, as well as Internet research.

FOOTBALL COACHES

Five of the New England flagship universities maintain a football program. The University of Vermont does not. Like the men's and women's basketball teams, UConn is the only university in the Big East conference. It also is the only football program in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS), formerly known as Division I-A. The others are in the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS), formerly known as Division I-AA. Table 3 compares salaries and revenue each program generated in 2008.

Randy Edsall earns the majority of his $ . 995 million pay for participating in media and speaking events. This totaled $ 695,000 in 2008.

Like Calhoun and Auriemma, Edsall's base and supplemental pay are funded by the university through athletic department revenue. Edsall's contract also contains incentives. He receives one month's base salary for non-Bowl Championship Series (BCS) games won and three months' base salary for BCS bowl games won.

URI's Darren Rizzi is the next highest paid football coach with a base salary of $ 160,000. He receives fringe benefits totaling $ 45,154, an assigned motor vehicle worth $ 12,000, and payment of country club dues and fees worth $ 8,000. And Rizzi's contract includes incentives for his team's success.

Table 3: New England Flagship University Football Coach Earnings and Team Revenue for 2008

*Source: OLR phone survey of university athletic directors, the U. S. Department of Education Equity in Athletics Commission, as well as Internet research.

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