The highest paid ADs in college sports are....
The good folks at USA Today put together an annual list of salaries for FBS, head coaches, assistant coaches and strength coaches -- a treasure trove of information for everyone in the industry.
USA Today has partnered with Athletic Director U to publish an updated list (view the full study here) for FBS athletics directors, revealing salary information for 115 of the 130 FBS ADs.
According to the database, Duke's Kevin White earns the highest salary in the country at $1.45 million, but Notre Dame's Jack Swarbrick is the highest-paid, raking in $994,000 in salary and $2.056 million in "other university compensation," good for a total compensation package of $3.05 million.
Combining both revenue streams, 17 ADs earn at least $1 million annually, nearly doubling the nine millionaire ADs from five years ago.
1. Jack Swarbrick, Notre Dame -- $3.05 million
2. Jim Phillips, Northwestern -- $1.57 million
3. Barry Alvarez, Wisconsin -- $1.55 million
4. Kevin White, Duke -- $1.451 million
5. Kirby Hocutt, Texas Tech -- $1.45 million
6. Chris Del Conte, Texas -- $1.435 million
7. Gene Smith, Ohio State -- $1.42 million
8. Greg Byrne, Alabama -- $1.225 million
9. Joe Castiglione, Oklahoma -- $1.149 million
10. Ron Wellman, Wake Forest -- $1.106 million
11. Dan Guerrero, UCLA -- $1.084 million
12. Scott Stricklin, Florida -- $1.08 million
13. Hunter Yurachek, Arkansas -- $1.05 million
14. Phillip Fulmer, Tennessee -- $1.04 million
15. Whit Babcock, Virginia Tech -- $1.03 million
16. Bubba Cunningham, North Carolina -- $1.0004 million
17. Bill Moos, Nebraska -- $1 million
Buoyed by Jack Swarbrick's massive deal at Notre Dame, the ACC leads all conferences in average AD pay. The Big Ten, Big 12 and SEC remain in lockstep with an average pay of just below $1 million while the Pac-12 lags well behind its peers -- surprising, given the Conference of Champions' all-sports-are-equally-important-to-us branding image.
Credit: Athletic Director U
The American's AD pay average is a example of the league's overall identity crisis -- well ahead of the remainder of the Group of 5, but still well below the Power 5.
Credit: Athletic Director U
Below are the five highest-paid ADs from each conference, rounded to the nearest thousand.
American
1. Danny White, UCF -- $575,000
2. Rick Hart, SMU -- $558,000
3. David Benedict, Connecticut -- $550,000
4. Mike Bohn, Cincinnati -- $541,000
5. Jeff Compher, East Carolina -- $538,000
ACC
1. Jack Swarbrick, Notre Dame -- $3.05 million
2. Kevin White, Duke -- $1.45 million
3. Ron Wellman, Wake Forest -- $1.106 million
4. Bubba Cunningham, North Carolina -- $1 million
5. Dan Radakovich, Clemson -- $950,000
Big Ten
1. Jim Phillips, Northwestern -- $1.57 million
2. Barry Alvarez, Wisconsin -- $1.55 million
2. Gene Smith, Ohio State -- $1.42 million
3. Bill Moos, Nebraska -- $1 million
5. Mark Hollis, Michigan State -- $955,000
Big 12
1. Kirby Hocutt, Texas Tech -- $1.45 million
2. Chris Del Conte, Texas -- $1.435 million
3. Joe Castiglione, Oklahoma -- $1.148 million
4. Shane Lyons, West Virginia -- $920,000
5. Jamie Pollard, Iowa State -- $868,000
Conference USA
1. Pedro Garcia, Florida International -- $498,000
2. Camden Selig, Old Dominion -- $443,000
3. Wren Baker, North Texas -- $400,000
3. Mike Hill, Charlotte -- $400,000
5. Lisa Campos, UTSA -- $375,000
MAC
1. Joel Nielsen, Kent State -- $457,000
2. Sean Frazier, Northern Illinois -- $320,000
3. Mark Alnutt, Buffalo -- $285,000
3. Lawrence Williams II, Akron -- $285,000
5. Jim Schaus, Ohio -- $281,000
Mountain West
1. Joe Parker, Colorado State -- $400,000
2. John Wicker, San Diego State -- $398,000
3. Desiree Reed-Francois, UNLV -- $375,000
4. Curt Aspey, Boise State -- $353,000
5. Marie Tuite, San Jose State -- $351,000
Pac-12
1. Dan Guerrero, UCLA -- $1.084 million
2. Scott Barnes, Oregon State -- $938,000
3. Rob Mullens, Oregon -- $815,000
4. Ray Anderson, Arizona State -- $800,000
5. Richard George, Colorado -- $772,000
SEC
1. Greg Byrne, Alabama -- $1.225 million
2. Scott Stricklin, Florida -- $1.08 million
3. Hunter Yurachek, Arkansas -- $1.05 million
4. Phillip Fulmer, Tennessee -- $1.04 million
5. David Williams, Vanderbilt -- $985,000
Sun Belt
1. Charles Cobb, Georgia State -- $350,000
2. Terry Mohaijr, Arkansas State -- $342,000
3. Joel Erdmann, South Alabama -- $330,000
4. Larry Teis, Texas State -- $329,000
5. Bryan Maggard, Louisiana-Lafayette -- $299,000
