March Madness – Would you like to coach?
Have you ever thought about changing jobs?
Have you ever aspired to be a college basketball coach?
Now is a great time to get your resume together.
John Calipari is the University of Kentucky men’s basketball coach. His pay this year is more than $8 million. He has a lifetime contract worth $86 million.
In the eyes of the basketball world, the UK basketball coaching job has been one of the most-desired jobs in college sports. However, big pay doesn’t come easy.
Calipari has led Kentucky to one NCAA championship and four final fours, and he has had 26 20-win game seasons throughout his career, although this year his 9-16 record hasn’t gone over too well with many of Kentucky’s fans
While Calipari is the highest-paid college basketball coach, there are others who do very well.
Mike Krzyzewski of Duke will make $7 million this season.
Jay Wright of Villanova will get paid $6 million. Chris Beard of Texas Tech is scheduled to get $5,050.000.
Rick Barnes of Tennessee will be paid $4,950.000. Roy Williams of North Carolina will receive up to $4 million.
Tom Izzo of Michigan State will be paid $3,984.000.
And, the list goes on. Chris Mack, Louisville, $4 million. Brad Underwood, Illinois, $4 million. Larry Krystkowiak, Utah, $3,961,519. Bob Huggins, West Virginia $4,050,000. UCLA Coach Mike Cronin, $3,600,000. Scott Drew of Baylor, $3,350,000. There are 50 to 60 college coaches at least making $2 million a year, but it does drop for many others. Kyle Smith of Washington State makes $1.4 million. Steve Alford for Nevada is getting $500,000. Johnny Jones of Texas Southern will be paid $250,000.
Rick Pitino, who came back from coaching professional basketball in Greece, will receive just over $1 million dollars at Iona.
This is a far cry from the $70 million contract he had with the Boston Celtics. His package had also reached more than $5 million per year before he left Louisville.
The list of well-paid coaches is too long to name them all, with many more making from $1 million to $2 million per year. There are many, many coaches making much lower salaries.
The point is, if you are looking for a career change, you might consider college basketball coaching.
Brad Stevens wanted to be a coach. He went to Butler in Indiana to be a volunteer in the Bulldogs’ program. He became the assistant coach and then a very successful head coach. Butler moved him from free to more than $1 million per year by the time he left. He now makes more than $3.6 million per year as the Celtics’ coach.
Not bad for starting out as a volunteer. So, find a job waiting tables to feed yourself. Volunteer for a good basketball program. Work very hard.
Earn yourself an assistant’s job and you might end up coaching a great basketball program and making several million a year.
