Average Salary Of D-I ADs About $450,000, Rivaling School Presidents' Pay

The average salary for D-I college athletic directors is about $450,000, “rivaling the pay of many university presidents,” according to a front-page piece by Upton & Berkowitz of USA TODAY. At least six ADs “make more than $1 million, and since August 2010, at least 10 public schools have given their ADs pay raises of $75,000 or more.” The job has gone “from coach emeritus to one that has attracted at least one former multinational CEO” -- current Univ. of Michigan AD and former Domino’s Pizza Chair & CEO Dave Brandon. Bringing in former CEOs to run athletic departments “is likely to increase, especially as cash strapped schools are increasingly insisting that athletics run without subsidies and student fees” (USA TODAY, 10/6).

TOP 15 HIGHEST-PAID COLLEGE ATHLETIC DIRECTORS
RK	SCHOOL	AD	UNIV. PAY	OTHER	TOTAL	MAX BONUS
1	Vanderbilt	David Williams*	$2,560,505	$0	$2,560,505	$0
2	Florida	Jermy Foley	$1,545,250	$0	$1,545,250	$50,000
3	Louisville	Tom Jurich	$1,422,204	$5,500	$1,427,704	$344,000
4	Texas	DeLoss Dodds**	$1,093,391	$2,365	$1,095,756	$125,000
5	Ohio State	Gene Smith	$1,074,546	$0	$1,074,546	$250,000
6	Wisconsin	Barry Alvarez	$1,000,000	$40,800	$1,040,800	$0
7	Oklahoma	Joe Castiglione	$975,000	$0	$975,000	$510,000
8	Notre Dame	Jack Swarbrick	$932,232	$0	$932,232	$0
9	Duke	Kevin White	$908,659	$0	$908,659	$0
10	Tennessee	Dave Hart	$750,000	$0	$750,000	$0
11	LSU	Joe Alleva	$725,000	$0	$725,000	$100,000
12	Navy	Chet Gladchuk	$712,742	$0	$712,742	$0
13	Michigan	Dave Brandon	$700,454	$0	$700,454	$165,000
14	Wake Forest	Ron Wellman	$694,950	$0	$694,950	$0
15	Texas A&M	Bill Byrne	$690,000	$0	$690,000	$287,500

NOTES: * = Williams is Vice Chancellor/University Affairs & Athletics, General Counsel & Secretary of the University and its medical center, as well as a tenured law professor. Vanderbilt eliminated its athletic department in '03. ** = Dodds is AD for men's sports only.