Jaelen Venable Essays (735 words) - Sports, American Football

Jaelen Venable March 7, 2017 English 111 College Football Coach vs. University President If the average American had to choose between being the head football coach of a major FBS (Football Bowl Subdivision) football program like Alabama or Ohio State or be the school's chancellor/president its safe to say the majority would choose to be a college football coach. After all Americans love their college football. Nowadays collegiate coaches make millions every year to coach football. Valerie Strauss of the Washington Post says "University presidents average a total salary of about $400,000 a year" (Washington Post). Alabama's Nick Saban makes seven million a year, so one can put that into comparison. Is this fair? I think it is because college coaches generate a great amount of money for the school, and have successful football programs, and have endorsements that help the university. College football coaches help generate a great amount of money for a university whether it be through television revenue or sports apparel. Television revenue is the biggest money producer for college coaches. When games are played on TV the university is allowed to advertise themselves to attract people to attend. There is also competition between networks and whichever creates the most revenue is what will be aired. College coaches are like a brand for the university they represent. The major programs that have successful athletic programs provide coaches with most of the money because if a coach is winning a school will pay top dollar to keep him there. A general rule of thumb a most universities is that a school cannot pay an employee is more than the president so this is why college coaches receive their money from other places and not the university. The president does not generate any money for the school, they simply oversee everything and make regulations. University of Alab ama president Judy Bonner said in a statement that Saban's salary "Is paid completely out of the athletic department's budget, which is self-supporting. The athletics department provides $5 million annually to help support faculty programs and academic scholarships" (News Today). Whenever a teenager is deciding what college they want to attend the football program will play a part in that decision. Students want to be apart of the football atmosphere and participate in games. A successful football program can create that atmosphere. A coach's success on the field adds to their pay. Consistently winning gets a coach extra incentives. Jim Baumbach's research states that "The incentive for winning the Southeastern Conference is $125,000 and $50,000 for being coach of the year" (News Today). Doing those two things alone is a little under half the salary of a university president. The athletic department sets goals for coaches like getting a certain number of wins, winning the conference, etc. There are also off the field goals for coaches as well, so they want to succeed in that also. For instance, if a coach's team averages a certain grade point average he can receive incentives for that, as well as how many players that graduate while he is head coach. Incentiv es can also be earned for things like sellout crowds. Endorsements play a big part in a college coach's salary. Alabama's Nick Saban has endorsements from Ford and Coca Cola. Those two companies alone can support him for the rest of his life because of how productive they are. Endorsements also promote the university. If someone see's Nick Saban drinking Coke or in a Coke commercial they will feel the need to research the University of Alabama. Fans will also drink Coke over a competitor like Pepsi just because Nick Saban is endorsed by Coke. Saban's corporation, Sideline Inc., "receives income related to fees, royalty payments, advance payments or similar compensation" (New York Times). Also players do not get paid and cannot receive benefits, so these companies and brands reach out to coaches instead. School presidents are not endorsed by anyone; their salary comes strictly from the university. College coaches being paid more than school president may not seem right, but its fair considering all the money generated by the athletic department of major football programs. Essentially the coach is earning every penny that is spent on him. College football is a multi