USF Football, Basketball Salaries Among Lowest

[TyBull]

USF Football, Basketball Salaries Among Lowest

By BRETT McMURPHY The Tampa Tribune

Published: Jul 5, 2007

http://www.tbo.com/sports/bulls/MGBM4JSHQ3F.html

TAMPA - New University of South Florida offensive coordinator Greg Gregory received the largest raise among the Bulls' assistants for the 2007-08 school year, while new men's basketball coach Stan Heath's three assistants will each make more than USF's highest-paid men's basketball assistant last season.

Gregory, who was promoted from tight ends coach in January, will make $120,000 this year, an increase of $35,000 from last season. Safeties coach Troy Douglas, who turned down offers from Minnesota and Middle Tennessee to remain at USF, received a $20,000 increase to $95,000, while defensive coordinator Wally Burnham's salary increased $19,000 to $165,000.

The salary information was provided by USF through a Tampa Tribune public records request. The new salaries went into effect Sunday, the start of the school's 2007-08 fiscal year.

Burnham is USF's highest-paid assistant, followed by new defensive line coach Dan McCarney ($140,000), who joined USF in February after 12 seasons as Iowa State's coach. Gregory and running backs coach Carl Franks, who received a $14,000 raise, are next at $120,000 each.

The remainder of USF's football staff salaries: new receivers coach Mike Canales ($100,000), cornerbacks coach Rich Rachel ($95,000; a $10,000 raise from last season), new offensive line coach Mike Simmonds ($65,000) and new tight ends coach Larry Scott ($50,000).

As required by Coach Jim Leavitt's contract, USF's assistants' pool increased $100,000 from last season to $950,000. The individual salaries are determined by Leavitt, who receives $1 million a year, not including incentives.

Despite the increases, USF's assistants' salaries still rank among the nation's lowest among Bowl Championship Series schools.

Heath, who was hired at USF in April after five seasons at Arkansas, had $375,000 to divide among his staff. Top assistant Dan Hipsher will receive $125,000, with Reggie Hanson and Byron Samuels each receiving $100,000. Darren Sorenson, USF's director of basketball operations, will receive $50,000.

Heath will earn $675,000, not including incentives, in his debut season at USF.

Reporter Brett McMurphy can be reached at (813) 259-7928 or bmcmurphy@tampatrib.com.

[bulls96go]

we need more BE $$$.

[BullsFanInTX]

I would like to see the salaries of other BE assistant coaches, before I make a judgement on whether they are adequate or not.

[Bullpride08]

We went from 'the lowest' to 'among the lowest', another year of salary bumps and increased revenue then we should go to USF Footall coaches Salaries 'among the middle of the pack' despite being in the top 25. 

In five years Brett will have to find another old tired topic to beat.

[The Sheriff]

I'm glad Brett does report these figures... I was grossly underpaid at my last job SBien, yet was easily at the top of my profession in my field. Funny enough, I didn't realize how screwed I was getting until other yearly figures were released from my competition... and I already realized how piss poor they were at my job. It allowed me to leverage my old company to an approximate $70K raise... which I then proceeded to walk anyways... now I'm partnered up at a firm where we're on pace to reach close to $150K each. I still work long hours... but now I'm actually making a dent into my $40k in school loans, my mortgage payment, and my credit card payments that have held me down for years. I'm probably 18 months away from being out of the red... and then I will be able to make the committment financially to USF that I've always wanted to make... both to football and softball. Its good to know what others in the industry make... I'm glad Leavitt lobbied for those raises... but in some cases, we lost good coaches because they came so late in the game. When the money is good enough at USF, some of those coaches will end back at USF.

Look at coach C... he probably wasn't making a $100K when he left USF as the former OC. Now... he comes back as a receiver's coach or QB coach and he is making some decent cheddar... and this is after UofA made him the scapegoat for their offensive woes... didn't matter that their "Marquel Blackwell" was always injured.

USF is coming up to par slowly... Brett is just reporting it...

[E.T.]

USF Football, Basketball Salaries Among Lowest ...

When our fan base grows, so will our coaches salaries.

And remember the new $2 Million a year will help increase our coaches salaries.

Go BULLS !!!

[Joe]

Listen we've lost some coaches the last few seasons because of this. I know Leavitt deserves every penny he gets, but its hard for his assistants to remain loyal when he is making $1 Million and his assistants are at the bottom of the BCS rung. Will it change? Yes. But for now it sucks.

[USF-PMR]

The biggest shame in this article is if Wally was to leave and it was becasue he did not make over 250,000 a year.  He clearly is worth much more than the meager salary he is being paid.

Give all the survivors a break and pay them a decent wage.

[BullsFanInTX]

I don't think Burnham is going anywhere, he is making halfway decent $$, but some of our young up and coming assistants might, if they don't see us keep up pace with average BCS assistant pay.

[Bullpride08]

I'm glad Brett does report these figures... I was grossly underpaid at my last job SBien, yet was easily at the top of my profession in my field. Funny enough, I didn't realize how screwed I was getting until other yearly figures were released from my competition... and I already realized how **** poor they were at my job. It allowed me to leverage my old company to an approximate $70K raise... which I then proceeded to walk anyways... now I'm partnered up at a firm where we're on pace to reach close to $150K each. I still work long hours... but now I'm actually making a dent into my $40k in school loans, my mortgage payment, and my credit card payments that have held me down for years. I'm probably 18 months away from being out of the red... and then I will be able to make the committment financially to USF that I've always wanted to make... both to football and softball. Its good to know what others in the industry make... I'm glad Leavitt lobbied for those raises... but in some cases, we lost good coaches because they came so late in the game. When the money is good enough at USF, some of those coaches will end back at USF.

Look at coach C... he probably wasn't making a $100K when he left USF as the former OC. Now... he comes back as a receiver's coach or QB coach and he is making some decent cheddar... and this is after UofA made him the scapegoat for their offensive woes... didn't matter that their "Marquel Blackwell" was always injured.

USF is coming up to par slowly... Brett is just reporting it...

Sheriff, you're acting like USF isn't aware of it and needs Brett's help to get some message out.  Brett's hung on this topic for quite sometime, and he will continue to beat the dead horse as is his custom.  Like I said after another raise they're scheduled to get next year his headline will switch to 'middle of the pack', and then someday we'll be high enough he'll need to find another goofy topic to beat up.  The point that's always been made is we've been BCS exactly two years and we're continually moving up.  When we first started we probably had the smallest budget in all the BCS in the low $20M's, now we're expecting next season to have an athletic budget near the mid- $30M's.  It's all baby steps, add revenue you can pay more money- the coaches at USF realize the athletic department isn't flush with cash and making money at the expense of ignorant coaches earning lower revenue.  Many coaches are here for the love of the University and building, those that leave do it to better their careers like you did.  You getting paid less was more of a product of an employer having an upper hand and realizing he could leverage your lack of knowledge to get a bargain for your production until you got the inside tract.  This situation is a tad different.

But great job getting yourself in position to earn the type of money you deserve!