UT's Mack Brown Becomes First College Coach To Hit $5M Mark

Brown's Former Base Salary Of $3M Placed Him Ninth Among All College Football Coaches

Univ. of Texas (UT) football coach Mack Brown yesterday received a $2M annual salary increase, making him the "first $5[M] man in college sports," according to Suzanne Halliburton of the AUSTIN AMERICAN-STATESMAN. Brown's new salary propels him past USC's Pete Carroll, Alabama's Nick Saban and Florida's Urban Meyer, as well as Kentucky men's basketball coach John Calipari, who had been the "highest-paid coaches in the nation this year." Brown's previous contract paid him a minimum of $3M this season, which placed him ninth in "base compensation among college football coaches." Carroll, earning $4.4M, was "thought to be the highest paid" prior to Brown's new deal. Brown's original contract "called for him to earn" a $2M retention bonus if he still was coaching UT as of January 1, and the UT System Board of Regents elected to make that $2M payment a "permanent portion of Brown's salary." Brown also will receive "annual raises of $100,000, and he's eligible for incentives tied to such successes as bowl victories, national rankings and graduation rates." Halliburton notes "no state money or tuition revenue is used to pay Brown's salary." He is compensated "entirely from money earned by the football program, which is the top revenue producer in the country" (AUSTIN AMERICAN-STATESMAN, 12/10). Brown in his 12 seasons at UT has won two Big 12 championships and the '05 National Championship. UT President William Powers Jr. said Brown has "built one of the nation’s premier football programs and ... remains in high demand around the country. It is vital we have a salary strategy to keep him here" (FT. WORTH STAR-TELEGRAM, 12/10).