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The topic of paying college athletes or giving student-athletes the ability to be compensated in excess of their currently-received academic package is a current hot topic for debate. One thing is for certain, coaches don't have to worry about that.
In their annual story during the NCAA Tournament, USA Today raises awareness on the salaries of the coaches who played in the Field of 68. Shocking no one, Villanova's head coach Jay Wright is among the top paid.
According to their report, Wright will make just under an estimated $2.5 million for the 2013-14 season. That is based on "the university’s most recently available federal income tax return". They added that, "nearly all of Wright’s income for the 2011 calendar year was in the form of base compensation, listed as $2,451,265".
But, how far does that money get you? Paying heaps doesn't guarantee trips to the NCAA Tournament. Georgetown will pay John Thompson III $2.7 million this season and the Hoyas lost in the second round of the NIT Tournament.
But values exist- Brad Underwood at Stephen F. Austin is only making $200,000 this season and delivered 32 wins for the Lumberjacks- that's only $6,250 per victory. Dayton's run to the Elite 8 under Archie Miller will only cost the school just under $13k per win.
In Contrast, even though Mike Krzyzewski guided the Blue Devils to 26 wins in 2014, Duke is still paying $372k per win. Kansas and Kentucky are also paying close to $200k per win this season under Bill Self and John Calipari. Georgetown paid $150,000 for each of their 18 wins.
Turning the scope on Villanova, in the pool of coaches in this year's NCAA Tournament, Jay Wright had the 12th highest salary. However, the school paid the 18th most per victory at $85,839.
Here are how the coaches in the 2014 NCAA Tournament are getting paid and how it breaks down per win.
| RANK | HEAD COACH | SCHOOL | CONF | TOTAL PAY | 2014 Wins | $/win |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mike Krzyzewski | Duke Blue Devils | ACC | $9,682,032.00 | 26 | $372,385.85 |
| 2 | Rick Pitino | Louisville Cardinals | AAC | $5,758,338.00 | 31 | $185,752.84 |
| 3 | John Calipari | Kentucky Wildcats* | SEC | $5,511,381.00 | 28* | $196,835.04 |
| 4 | Bill Self | Kansas Jayhawks | Big 12 | $4,960,763.00 | 25 | $198,430.52 |
| 5 | Billy Donovan | Florida Gators* | SEC | $3,905,964.00 | 36* | $108,499.00 |
| 6 | Tom Izzo | Michigan State Spartans | Big Ten | $3,893,954.00 | 29 | $134,274.28 |
| 7 | Steve Alford | UCLA Bruins | PAC-12 | $3,473,973.00 | 28 | $124,070.46 |
| 8 | Thad Matta | Ohio State Buckeyes | Big Ten | $3,282,000.00 | 25 | $131,280.00 |
| 9 | Josh Pastner | Memphis Tigers | AAC | $2,650,000.00 | 24 | $110,416.67 |
| 10 | Sean Miller | Arizona Wildcats | PAC-12 | $2,627,806.00 | 33 | $79,630.48 |
| 11 | Rick Barnes | Texas Longhorns | Big 12 | $2,550,000.00 | 24 | $106,250.00 |
| 12 | John Beilein | Michigan Wolverines | Big Ten | $2,498,242.00 | 28 | $89,222.93 |
| 13 | Jay Wright | Villanova Wildcats | Big East | $2,489,332.00 | 29 | $85,839.03 |
| 14 | Travis Ford | Oklahoma State Cowboys | Big 12 | $2,450,000.00 | 21 | $116,666.67 |
| 15 | Jamie Dixon | Pittsburgh Panthers | ACC | $2,445,682.00 | 26 | $94,064.69 |
| 16 | Tony Bennett | Virginia Cavaliers | ACC | $2,291,100.00 | 30 | $76,370.00 |
| 17 | Bo Ryan | Wisconsin Badgers* | Big Ten | $2,288,500.00 | 30* | $76,283.33 |
| 18 | Lon Kruger | Oklahoma Sooners | Big 12 | $2,200,000.00 | 23 | $95,652.17 |
| 19 | Scott Drew | Baylor Bears | Big 12 | $2,133,120.00 | 26 | $82,043.08 |
| 20 | Mark Gottfried | North Carolina State Wolfpack | ACC | $2,009,000.00 | 22 | $91,318.18 |
| 21 | Dana Altman | Oregon Ducks | PAC-12 | $2,000,000.00 | 24 | $83,333.33 |
| 22 | Roy Williams | North Carolina Tar Heels | ACC | $1,827,945.00 | 24 | $76,164.38 |
| 23 | Jim Boeheim | Syracuse Orange | ACC | $1,818,661.00 | 28 | $64,952.18 |
| 24 | Herb Sendek | Arizona State Sun Devils | PAC-12 | $1,804,500.00 | 21 | $85,928.57 |
| 25 | Gregg Marshall | Wichita State Shockers | Mo. Valley | $1,794,500.00 | 35 | $51,271.43 |
| 26 | Bruce Weber | Kansas State Wildcats | Big 12 | $1,754,040.00 | 20 | $87,702.00 |
| 27 | Fred Hoiberg | Iowa State Cyclones | Big 12 | $1,618,750.00 | 28 | $57,812.50 |
| 28 | Mick Cronin | Cincinnati Bearcats | AAC | $1,552,205.00 | 27 | $57,489.07 |
| 29 | Shaka Smart | Virginia Commonwealth Rams | A-10 | $1,530,000.00 | 26 | $58,846.15 |
| 30 | Tim Miles | Nebraska Cornhuskers | Big Ten | $1,525,000.00 | 19 | $80,263.16 |
| 31 | Fran McCaffery | Iowa Hawkeyes | Big Ten | $1,501,250.00 | 20 | $75,062.50 |
| 32 | Tad Boyle | Colorado Buffaloes | PAC-12 | $1,427,500.00 | 23 | $62,065.22 |
| 33 | Cuonzo Martin | Tennessee Volunteers | SEC | $1,350,000.00 | 24 | $56,250.00 |
| 34 | Kevin Ollie | Connecticut Huskies* | AAC | $1,250,000.00 | 30* | $41,666.67 |
| 35 | Mark Few | Gonzaga Bulldogs | West Coast | $1,187,536.00 | 29 | $40,949.52 |
| 36 | Greg McDermott | Creighton Bluejays | Big East | $945,725.00 | 27 | $35,026.85 |
| 37 | Steve Fisher | San Diego State Aztecs | Mt. West | $909,250.00 | 31 | $29,330.65 |
| 38 | Phil Martelli | Saint Josephs Hawks | A-10 | $902,651.00 | 24 | $37,610.46 |
| 39 | Chris Mack | Xavier Musketeers | Big East | $860,807.00 | 21 | $40,990.81 |
| 40 | Derek Kellogg | Massachusetts Minutemen | A-10 | $843,667.00 | 24 | $35,152.79 |
| 41 | Ed Cooley | Providence Friars | Big East | $783,518.00 | 23 | $34,066.00 |
| 42 | Craig Neal | New Mexico Lobos | Mt. West | $770,000.00 | 27 | $28,518.52 |
| 43 | Danny Manning | Tulsa Golden Hurricane | CUSA | $480,606.00 | 21 | $22,886.00 |
| 44 | Rob Jeter | Wisconsin-Milwaukee | Horizon | $459,151.00 | 21 | $21,864.33 |
| 45 | Bob Marlin | Louisiana-Lafayette | Sun Belt | $400,000.00 | 23 | $17,391.30 |
| 46 | Marvin Menzies | New Mexico State | WAC | $391,474.00 | 26 | $15,056.69 |
| 47 | Archie Miller | Dayton Flyers | A-10 | $335,152.00 | 26 | $12,890.46 |
| 48 | Will Brown | Albany | Am East | $318,000.00 | 19 | $16,736.84 |
| 49 | Steve Hawkins | Western Michigan | MAC | $312,000.00 | 23 | $13,565.22 |
| 50 | Cliff Ellis | Coastal Carolina | Big South | $275,098.00 | 21 | $13,099.90 |
| 51 | Jeff Neubauer | Eastern Kentucky | Ohio Valley | $269,630.00 | 24 | $11,234.58 |
| 52 | Joe Callero | California Polytechnic | Big West | $240,813.00 | 14 | $17,200.93 |
| 53 | Mike Davis | Texas Southern | SWAC | $200,000.00 | 19 | $10,526.32 |
| 54 | Brad Underwood | Stephen F Austin State | Southland | $200,000.00 | 32 | $6,250.00 |
| 55 | Randy Rahe | Weber State Wildcats | Big Sky | $196,528.00 | 19 | $10,343.58 |
| 56 | LeVelle Moton | North Carolina Central | MEAC | $195,567.00 | 28 | $6,984.54 |
| 57 | Saul Phillips | North Dakota State | Summit | $188,547.00 | 26 | $7,251.81 |
| 58 | Mike Young | Wofford | Southern | $171,244.00 | 20 | $8,562.20 |
| 59 | Bob Hoffman | Mercer | Atl Sun | -- | 27 | -- |
| 60 | Jim Crews | Saint Louis Billikens | A-10 | -- | 27 | -- |
| 61 | Dave Rose | BYU Cougars | West Coast | -- | 23 | -- |
| 62 | Mike Brennan | American University Eagles | Patriot | -- | 20 | -- |
| 63 | Steve Masiello | Manhattan Jaspers | MAAC | -- | 25 | -- |
| 64 | Monte Ross | Delaware Blue Hens | CAA | -- | 25 | -- |
| 65 | Johnny Dawkins | Stanford Cardinal | PAC-12 | -- | 23 | -- |
| 66 | Jamion Christian | Mount St. Mary's Mountaineers | Northeast | -- | 16 | -- |
| 67 | Tommy Amaker | Harvard Crimson | Ivy | -- | 27 | -- |
| 68 | Mike Lonergan | George Washington Colonials | A-10 | -- | 24 | -- |
*Wins up to the Final Four