ATHLETIC INCENTIVES VS.

ACADEMIC INCENTIVES

ARTICLE TITLE :
NCAA DIVISION I MENS BASKETBALL
C OA C HI N G C O NT R AC T S : A C O M PAR ATIV E
A N A LYS I S O F I N C E N T I V E S F O R ATH L E T I C
AND ACADEMIC TEAM PERFORMANCE
 Purpose
To compare the athletic
team performance incentive
clauses to the academic
team performance clauses.
Who
Division I mens head
basketball coaches that
participated in the 2009
NCAA Division I mens
basketball tournament
CONFERENCE TV RIGHTS AND INTERCOLLEGIATE ATHLETIC BUDGETS

Compensation for NCAA Division I Mens Basketball coaches is constantly

increasing due to factors such as: increased exposure, expensive
broadcasting deals, and corporate sponsorship
PAC-12 = 12 years- $3 billion dollars
ACC= $155 million per year
Big 12 = $130 million per year
NCAA = 14 year - $10.8 billion dollar

USA Today conducted a study of 228 intercollegiate athletic departments and

found a total of $6.2 billion dollars was spent on intercollegiate athletics
in 2010
 COACHES SUCCESS CRITERIA

1. Academic Performance
2. On-field Performance
3. Behavior of Student-Athletes
4. Revenue Performance

Did You Know: Rick Pitino earned

a total compensation package
equaling $7.5 million dollars and
John Calipari earned a total
compensation package equaling
$3.8 million dollars in 2011
 JIM CALHOUN- Coaches
UNIVERSITY OF CONNECTICUT HEAD
MENS BASKETBALL COACH (USA
TODAY, 2010)
Contracts
No two contracts are the same
Compensation- $325,000 base salary Sections within the contract
Travel- All expenses incurred by Calhoun and his spouse related to Duties
conduct necessary travel to meetings, events, or functions directly Responsibilities
related to his job Term of Employment
Country Club Membership- One time membership fee for the Rollover Provisions
coach at a mutually agreed upon country club Reassignment Clause
Basketball Tickets- Coach receives 25 tickets for discretionary use
and purchase privileges for 25 additional tickets for all basketball Compensation Clause
games Fringe Benefits
Basketball Camps and Clinics- All camps are owned and run by Bonuses
Calhoun. Calhoun is entitled to all sums derived from the basketball Incentives
camp or clinic Provision Agreements
Promotion, Endorsements, and Consulting Activities- Calhoun
may retain any income from the endorsement contracts to the extent
permitted by the Code of Ethics
 UNIVERSITY OF LOUISVILLE RICK PITINO (2007)
3.1.4 EMPLOYEE SHALL BE
ENTITLED TO THE FOLLOWING
3 . 1 . 3 ATHLE TI C BONUSES FOR ACADEMIC
ACHIEVEM ENT BY T HE ACHIEVEMENT BY THE
SPORT S T EAM IN ANY
MEMBERS OF THE SPORTS
BASKET BAL L S E ASON
WHIL E UNDER THE T EA M R EC E I VI N G ATH L ET I C
EM PLOYE E GRANTS IN AID DURING ANY
ACADEMIC YEAR WHILE
UNDER THE DIRECTION OF
A. Big East Tournament Champion - THE EMPLOYEE
$50,000
B. Advancing to final 16 teams in NCAA A. Collective GPA of 2.25 $25,000
tourney $50,000
B. Collective GPA of 2.5 $50,000
C. Advancing to Elite 8 in NCAA tourney -
$50,000 C. Collective GPA of 2.75 $75,000

D. Advancing to Final Four in NCAA D. Collective GPA of 3.0 $100,000

tourney $75,000 E. If the graduation rate of the scholarship
E. NCAA Tournament Champion - players exceeds the graduation rate of all
$150,000 male students attending the University -
$25,000
F. If the graduation rate of the scholarship
players exceeds 80% - $75,000
 METHOD
Data was collected from 46 mens basketball head coaches who
participated in the 2009 Mens NCAA Basketball Tournament

Category Total Category Total

BCS Non- BCS

Academics Academics
$
Graduation % $1,267,800.00 Graduation % -
$ $
GPA 534,600.00 GPA 3,500.00
$ $
APR 590,000.00 APR 15,750.00

Athletics Athletics
$ $
Conference COY 241,900.00 Conference COY 54,726.41
$ $
National COY 525,000.00 National COY 90,000.00
$ $
Postseason Appearance 619,167.00 Postseason Appearance 131,306.00
Reg Season Conf $ Reg Season Conf $
Champs 862,667.00 Champs 75,726.41
$ $
Elite Eight Appearance 822,400.00 Elite Eight Appearance 235,976.00
$ $
Final Four Appearance 2,043,167.00 Final Four Appearance 495,976.41
$ $
National Championship 2,050,000.00 National Championship 191,833.00
 21 out of 37 (56.7%) coaches
contracts from BCS
RY conference schools had an
A academic incentive clause
M
U M 11 out of 23 (47.8%) coaches
S contracts from non-BCS
schools had an academic
incentive clause
Total compensation for
athletic team performance
incentives was nearly $10.5
million while only $2.5
million for academic team
performance incentives
DISCUSSION
1. Are athletic departments and the NCAA operating under student-
athlete or athlete-student?
2. If coaches were given larger incentives for academic success do you
think they would give it more attention and time?
3. Do you believe that college athletic programs with smaller budgets
4. How might the athletic academic counselors job change if head
coaches receive bonuses for team academic excellence ?