Track and Field coaching salaries are a JOKE

Well… most of us hs coaches get paid in credits so I am shocked that college coaches get paid in dollars

My son's head coach makes $250K per year and his distance coach makes $115K per year. He said they sit in their office playing video games during the day. They take the summer off.

Where is the job?

Maybe D3 will see the light and realize that thousands of kids might still want to run track just like play football and pay the freight to play college football at a D3 school.

Most D3 schools already realize this. They also realize people willing to coach at a D3 school are willing to deliver pizzas, stock shelves, or sell insurance to put a roof over their heads while they coach.

You are preaching to the choir buddy.

Those of us who are head coaches know we shouldn't be in it for the $, and those who are in it for $ don't last long.

Ive always thought at least the BARE MINIMUM any coach should make is the total direct cost of attendance. If the school can recruit and “pay” an athlete that much in scholarship, the coach should have a salary that’s at least equivalent to that amount. If I recruit 10-15 walk-ons a year, surely some of that money can be budgeted back for my salary.

I currently make about $9000 less than direct total costs of the school I work at. If you use the total cost of attendance figure they put out that includes indirect costs/living expenses, I’m at about $14,000 less.

It’s honestly depressing to think about too much. I love what I do. I enjoy the flexibility that summers provide for working from home, taking off early, etc. but sometimes I wonder if it’s worth it when during the year I don’t get home from work until between 6:30-7:30 each night and travel weekends.

Yup 80-90 hours a week, 35 weekends a year.

35k. I quit a while ago, had some kids and needed money. Life is so much easier on the other side

I’ve been a D1 mid major head coach the past few years making around 70k a year which I think is the average. Expectations aren’t there for team just have to keep the roster size up. Make my own schedule and can come and go just about as I please so really can’t complain. I have had the opportunity in the past to go higher and make more just hasn’t made sense yet but again I’m not in it for the money or the potential headache of grinding for a p5 head coach and never having time off or freedom to move how I want to move and recruit how I want to recruit

Any Division 1 coach who is saying that work this many hours a week is lying, or at best grossly exaggerating to make the job seem tougher than it is.

I have been coaching at a high level Division 1 school for over 10 years. You create your own schedule. How many jobs allow you to do that? I worked more hours when I first started because I thought the hustle and grind mindset was where it was at. Totally an issue of not working smart enough if you have to put it more than like 20-30 hours a week (yes, that low).

Sounds awesome!

In 2006 I was offered 90k to coach a D1 program in North Carolina. I had/have no interest in coaching college so I turned it down.

Here is a program nearby who is below average in the conference. Ohio Stste was 10th outdoor and 10th in XC. Coaches make $212K and $122K. Coaches are overpaid.

It’s a job that doesn’t generate revenue. It’s the head of a group that loses money for the organization. Why should they be paid well? If they want more money, they need to generate more money.

A lot of people in this world have jobs that they hate, but it pays well, so they stay.

Coaching is a job that most people do because they love it

Overall, I agree with the concept that distance running coaches are underpaid. But the stark reality is that distance running doesn't yield much revenue or ROI -- yet.

I await the day a human milestone is achieved and it is dependent on human distance running.

You only work 20-30 hours a week?! Shoot the NCAA says you can practice for 20. I thought you wanted to be good?

Do you coach both genders? Multiple events (mid distance to 10k)? Probably need different workouts right?

do you have an assistant? Do you have other duties like gassing vans? Travel? Equipment? Home meet management? Academic meetings? Compliance paperwork?

Do you not travel to meets and only stay for a few events?

Do you recruit? Surely you spend more than 20 hours a week working if a recruit is in town.

People tend to take their worst day or week and extrapolate that into their avg week.

is this CREDITS thing an LRCism I somehow didn't know about until last month? cue the vote downs..;)