Featured On CBS In March? Time For A Raise!

Get your team into the Elite 8 and your salary will reach elite numbers.

In fact, just make the tournament field of 65 teams, and you should see your salary as a college basketball coach expand in the next year. According to the USA TODAY, coaches who had their team reach the Elite 8 last year saw an average rise in salary of $332,000 and over 20 of the 65 coaches who made the NCAA tournament are grossing $1 million+ this year [Success on the court translates to big money for coaches]. If you happen to be a coach that made the tournament and your team is in a major conference, chances are that your salary figure is even greater (average of around $1.2 million this year). Mid-major schools are still dishing off a smaller amount of money to its tournament-entered teams with an average of $400,000 for those coaches [Mid-majors squeezed to pay up].

Think that Tom Izzo (Mich St), Seth Greenberg (VA Tech), and Gary Williams (Maryland) have been feeling some pressure lately to make the tournament? [Pressure builds on successful coaches]

While the numbers are looking good for college basketball coaches and their agents alike, NCAA football coaches are still making more than their colleagues on the court. In the ever-growing market that college coaches are in, salaries in both sports should continue to rise. In fact, high-profile coaches are even striking lucrative endorsement deals that earn them additional money that is not documented in the contracts that are signed with collegiate institutions (shoe and apparel deals, public speaking engagements, personal appearances). Gone are the days where the athlete is the only person of value outside of the game. Successful mid-major coaches, your day will come.

For a list of compensation for D1 men’s basketball coaches: USA TODAY D1 Database.

-Darren Heitner