COACH SALARIES

A high school coach is going to have a terrible time being considered for a decent college job. Sorry just the facts.

Yes high school teachers can make more than a mid level college coach but you have to be at work for 8-9 hours a day then an extra few hours for track practice.

College coaches make there own schedules, when they travel it is on the colleges dime, I also I don't think high school coaches get per diem for meets or recruiting trips.

So comparing how much you make as a high school teacher and coach (which is 2 jobs right?) to a college coaches job is not really an equal comparison

in the know 2 wrote:

I call bullshit. First, I doubt you were making that much as a teacher, unless you have a PhD and have been teaching 40+ years in a very expensive state to live in....even then, I doubt it. Second, I doubt you were offered a TOP collegiate position as head coach and asked to teach classes. That just does not happen. At least not at TOP programs. I work fulltime at a medium sized Div 1 school and we are not asked to teach, even during the year. We can teach, but we get paid extra.

You can call whatever you'd like. You're obviously a very ignorant individual. I left my last teaching position in CT where I was coaching cross, indoor and outdoor as well as being on the top step. My salary was little over 74,000. In my current position, I only coach cross and outdoor and I make a little more. I have been an asst at Yale and have been offered the head jobs at Quinnipiac, Fairfield, and USCGA. Coast guard wanted me to teach in the PE department for $24,000! That was in 90 or 91. I turned down offers of finalist interviews from Iowa State and several others because it wasn't remotely worth moving my family for the pay cut. Now that you know my personal financial history I hope you are satisfied and somewhat more educated.

I'm not the other guy who posted to you before, but you did say "top" collegiate position. None of the offers you mentioned were from programs that are "top" programs. Maybe "top" programs in Conn. but certainly not even close to "top" collegiate programs. Now, you may have made 40k more as a hs teacher/coach than those jobs, but not "top" collegiate jobs. I think the problem is you need to classify your statements a little better and people wouldn't call BS. Because from what you have said, his BS call stands.

Agreed. My fault for calling it a top position, although the Academy is probably the best D3 position in the country. where else can you recruit, offer a job after graduation and have kids that "must " participate? Iowa State wanted me to teach in the PE dept. and asked how far along I was in my doctorate. The point is, there are a ton of high school teacher/coaches making more than the majority of college coaches. I find it funny that many of the college guys get really pissed off when they are confronted with the reality of their situation. ..

Ray-

you keep going back to apples and oranges. College coaches are first and only coaches. High school coaches are teachers first and then coaches. Your coaching salary is what $4000 and your teaching salary is $60,000.

$10,000 for cross country

And high school coaches work twice as hard for the money. college coaches spend more time doing nothing than just about any other profession.

I disagree about the Academy being the best D3 position in the country. If you think this, you must not have any real collegiate coaching experience at one of the military academies. I have friends who have coached at few of the military academies. They are probably the most difficult to recruit to, not the easiest.

First, the admissions requirements are usually pretty stiff.

Second, you have to find the kids who are fast, smart, and interested in going to a military school (there are not a lot of kids like this).

Third, the admissions process at most of the academies is very long and tedious. Kids have to be 100% into it to go through with the entire process.

Fourth, the competition for admissions is very strong. Some military academies will only allow a certain number of incoming students from each state based on state population. So your recruits have to be fast, smart, interested in a military academy, and be able to beat out the other great applicants from their state.

Fifth, even if they must participate, this does not mean you are getting the best effor they can put forth. The other stuff they have going on is often very draining and much more important than your practice or competition.

It may sound like a great thing and you may think it's easy to recruit to those schools, but you would be wrong. West Point may be different, but the smaller military schools are nothing less than a great challenge and struggle. Why do you think the CG Academy is not one of the best teams in D3 if it is such a great job and so easy to recruit from?

You may be right about salary differences between mid-level collegiate jobs and high school teachers/coaches, but I think your grasp of the reality of these collegiate positions you are speaking of is pretty thin. Either that or you are trying to make them sound better than they are for the sake of your argument. Either way, you don't come off sounding like you know much about collegiate coaching at all (despite you saying you coached at Yale).

As a grad of the academy I can tell you they do not recruit the way the other military academies do. Neither is the admissions process the same. USCG academy should be the best Division III school in the country, but they are not because they invest nothing in the sport.

I have been a high school teacher/head coach (cc, indoor, outdoor), and a Division III head coach, and then a Division I head coach. No comparison. As a Division I coach I worked twice as hard as I did at either of the lower levels. And I like to work, so its not that I'm a lazy ass. The biggest difference is the 24/7 mentality of Division I. In high school, I worked 10 months, and drank beer and played softball all summer. It was great. Get paid over the summer for screwing off. I never had to do much at night, other than some prep for classes. Division III is glorified high school. Division I is intense, and draining. I'm not complaining, but administratiive work, NCAA junk, recruiting, etc, etc. It is a 10-12 hour day year round. Once the NCAA DI meet is done in mid-June, then you must get right to work on July 1 calling, making home visits, etc. Again, not complaining, but there is no comparision to high school and DI coaching. Whether you love it or not, it is a draining, high demand job.

Gov

i agree with you, i dont think people have a clue how hard a head coaching D1 or D2 job is. it is very demanding and your work is never done. unless you are okay with not being any good and never getting decent recruits. i started out at high school and i would say there is NO comparison. i am not complaining either, i love my job too but it is demanding if you want to be good.

Yeah, I was the head cross country coach at a D-I Junior College and only pulled in 3k with a housing waver that amounted to around 5k total. Meanwhile the local high school coach earned around 10k for doing a shI**y job. Did I mention that the lesser qualified "assistant coach earned 13k with a housing waver. Yes, I was a fool for taking that position.

robbo wrote:

Yeah, I was the head cross country coach at a D-I Junior College

What's a D-I Junior College?

Junior College has Division I and Division II, fyi.

I spent 8 years coaching in high school and 15 years in D1 and D2 programs. I never saw a high school coach bring his clubs to a meet.

wasthere - You are right on. I have never coached but I have had the very great fortune of being a university faculty member who can call Coach Dave Walker a good friend. I have known him for more than 25 years. This is a guy who has coached literally dozens of All Americans, at least two Olympians, an NCAA individual cross country champion and had arguably the best DI NCAA cross country team from 1075 to 1990. Further, he has had an incredibly positive impact on both male and female student athletes over his 40 year career - and he makes about 60K/year and it is a 12 month a year job if you are doing it right. Meantime our sorry arse basketball coach who can't even stay in the conference tournament makes 200k and local senior level teacher/coaches in the public schools are making about 50K for 9 months (and they deserve it).

Thank you and the other coaches for your dedication and skills. My high school cross country coach is the reason why I am still running 40 years after graduation.

good post.

Walter Soljack wrote:

Junior College has Division I and Division II, fyi.

Not attacking you, but FYI... they only have D-1 & D-3

D-1 = scholarship

D-3 = non scholarship

There used to be D-1 (full), D-2(partial), & D-3(non-scholarship) but have since grouped D-1 & D-2 all into one division.

Thanks. Other than the big time football and bb college coaches, I think that coaches in general are among the most under-rated contributors to university life.

"Running is a mental sport, and we're all insane."