When West Virginia University sued Coach Richard Rodrigez, it was kind enough to attach copies of his employment agreement. Take a glance at the types of incentives that some universities pay to head football coaches.
- Season Ticket Sales. $10,000 for 30,000 tickets, $20,000 for $35,000 tickets, and $30,000 for 40,000 tickets.
- Student Academic Achievement. $10,000 for a “satisfactory evaluation.”
- Regular Season Title. $75,000 for Big East title.
- Bowl Appearance. $25,000 for Non-BCS Bowl and $75,000 for Bowl Championship Series appearance.
- National Championship $150,000. (Does not mention according to which poll).
- Final Ranking. $15,000 for final Top 25 ranking and $25,000 for final Top 10 ranking in ESPN/USA Today or AP polls.
- GPA. $10,000 for team GPA of 2.65 or better.
- Graduation. $10,000 if 60% or more of recruits fulfill their eligibility and graduate from WVU within five years.
- Coaching Awards. $10,000 for Big East Conferenced Coach of the Year and $20,000 for National Coach of the Year.
If you are tabulating the results, that’s $30,000 for academic-related incentives and $385,000 for winning football games and putting fans in the seats. The sad part of these incentives is that the academic targets are so low while the athletic targets are so high. 2.65 GPA? That’s like giving a $10,000 incentive to finish 7-6.