Pac-12 | Statewide coach salaries reveal respect for volleyball

Washington head coach Jim McLaughlin cracks top ten of exclusive list

Washington head coach Jim McLaughlin
-Volleyblog Seattle photo by Leslie Hamann

It’s an annual headline guaranteed to raise eyebrows, if not blood pressure: the highest-paid public employees in the state … are coaches.

Head football coaches Steve Sarkisian of Washington ($2,736,431) and Mike Leach of Washington State ($2,275,000) are the top two on the 2012 list of public salaries, released today by the state’s Office of Financial Management.

Head men’s basketball coaches Lorenzo Romar of UW ($1,352,051) and Ken Bone of WSU ($855,128) took the next two spots. All four coaches earned more than WSU President Elson Floyd ($625,053), UW President Michael Young ($563,453) and even former Governor Chris Gregoire ($161,892).

When we look strictly at public university coaches for all sports, Washington volleyball head coach Jim McLaughlin ranks #10 at $274,148. WSU head volleyball coach Jennifer Greeny was #29 ($129,070); UW Associate Head Volleyball Coach Leslie Gabriel was #46 ($85,917); WSU’s Pat Stangle was #49 ($82,996).

A few things to contemplate here:

• The Office of Financial Management is quick to point out that “no state taxpayer dollars are used to pay the salaries of any UW athletic department employees, including coaches. The UW’s Intercollegiate Athletic Department is responsible for generating all the revenue it needs to operate its programs and maintain its facilities. There are no general fund tax dollars or any other tax dollars supporting the program. Nor are there any other institutional funds going to the program. And unlike many universities, there are no student fees or tuition dollars going to support athletics.”
• McLaughlin is likely now the highest-paid collegiate women’s sport coach in the state. Former UW women’s basketball coach Kevin McGuff was #6 ($443,764) before he bolted for Ohio State in April. His replacement, Mike Neighbors, reportedly signed a contract averaging just under $200,000 a year.
• Of the highest-paid coaches, 10 of the top 17 coach football at Washington, including 5 of the top 9.
• 21 of the top 25 coach at the University of Washington.
• In sports offered to both women and men, male coaches are consistently paid more than their female counterparts. An exception: UW softball coach Heather Tarr (#14, $204,203) is paid more than UW baseball coach Lindsay Meggs (#18, $190,006).
• At other state universities, Western Washington head volleyball coach Diane Flick earned $52,238 in 2012; Eastern Washington’s Miles Kydd earned $57,107; Central Washington’s Mario Andaya earned $59,285 and Evergreen’s Greg Spector earned $27,494.
• Many coaches supplement their income by conducting summer camps or (in the case of marquee sports) signing endorsement contracts.

State of Washington Public University Coaching Salaries: 2012

1	Football	Head	Steve Sarkisian	UW	2,736,431
2	Football	Head	Mike Leach	WSU	2,275,000
3	Basketball (M)	Head	Lorenzo Romar	UW	1,352,051
4	Basketball (M)	Head	Ken Bone	WSU	855,128
5	Football	Asst	Justin Wilcox	UW	756,790
6	Basketball (W)	Head	Kevin McGuff	UW	443,764
7	Football	Asst	Tosh Lopoi	UW	442,214
8	Football	Asst	Eric Kiesau	UW	364,869
9	Football	Asst	Daniel Cozzetto	UW	306,810
10	Volleyball	Head	Jim McLaughlin	UW	274,148
11	Basketball (W)	Head	June Daugherty	WSU	246,725
12	Football	Asst	Ivan Lewis	UW	231,793
13	Football	Asst	Peter Sirmon	UW	231,792
14	Softball	Head	Heather Tarr	UW	204,203
15	Football	Asst	Johnny Nansen	UW	203,882
16	Football	Asst	James Dougherty	UW	191,503
17	Football	Asst	Joel Thomas	UW	190,708
18	Baseball	Head	Lindsay Meggs	UW	190,006
19	Golf (M)	Head	Matt Thurmond	UW	190,000
20	Crew (M)	Head	Michael Callahan	UW	179,804
21	Baseball	Head	Don Marbut	WSU	178,312
22	Basketball (M)	Asst	James Shaw	UW	178,288
23	Basketball (M)	Asst	Paul Fortier	UW	163,233
24	Crew (W)	Head	Bob Ernst	UW	155,000
25	Football	Asst	Keith Heyward	UW	151,806
26	Soccer (M)	Head	Jamie Clark	UW	143,750
27	Football (M)	Head	Beau Baldwin	EWU	138,421
28	X-Country (M)	Head	Greg Metcalf	UW	136,257
29	Volleyball	Head	Jennifer Greeny	WSU	129,070
30	Basketball (W)	Asst	Mike Neighbors	UW	126,258
31	Gymnastics	Head	Joanne Bowers	UW	121,868
32	Football	Head	Blaine Bennett	CWU	121,788
33	Soccer (W)	Head	Lesle Gallimore	UW	119,171
34	Basketball (W)	Asst	Kevin Morrison	UW	115,008
35	Tennis (M)	Head	Matt Anger	UW	114,453
36	Swim (W)	Head	Tom Jager	WSU	104,006
37	Track	Head	Rick Sloan	WSU	102,885
38	Basketball (M)	Asst	Raphael Chillious	UW	102,416
39	Soccer (M)	Head	Keidane McAlpine	UW	100,000
40	Basketball (M)	Head	Jim Hayford	EWU	99,500
41	Baseball (M)	Asst	Greg Swenson	WSU	96,364
42	Golf (W)	Head	Mary Lou Mulflur	UW	91,355
43	Tennis (W)	Head	Lisa Hart	WSU	88,833
44	Tennis (W)	Head	Jill Hultquist	UW	88,338
45	Golf (M)	Head	Steve Card	WWU	86,057
46	Volleyball	Asst	Leslie Gabriel	UW	85,917
47	Strength	Asst	Matt Ludwig	UW	85,232
48	Basketball (M)	Head	Greg Sparling	CWU	84,307
49	Volleyball	Asst	Pat Stangle	WSU	82,996
50	Crew (W)	Head	Jane LaRiviere	WSU	82,901

Source: Washington State Office of Financial Management