In 2010, using figures compiled by USA Today, four of the top 10 and seven of the top 24 highest paid head coaches were in the SEC, topped by Alabama coach Nick Saban, who made approximately $6 million. Two Pac-12 coaches ranked in the top 25: Oregon's Chip Kelly ($2.4 million) and California's Jeff Tedford ($2.3 million).
But the disparity, believe it or not, is even more stunning when you consider assistant coach pay. Thirteen of the 26 assistant coaches paid $400,000 or more were in the SEC. Among the 40 highest-paid assistant coaches in the nation, the Pac-12 had just two: offensive coordinator Norm Chow (at UCLA in 2010, now at Utah) and Washington defensive coordinator Nick Holt. (Private schools such as USC and Stanford don't provide salary data. It's likely that Trojans head coach Lane Kiffin and his father and defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin would figure into these rankings.)
The raw numbers also don't tell the whole story. Just about every Pac-12 city is more expensive to live in than just about any SEC city. If UCLA were to hire Saban away from Alabama, it would have to pay him $8.65 million to match his standard of living in Tuscaloosa. The $206,000 California defensive coordinator Clancy Pendergast makes in the Bay Area is like making $124,285 in Auburn, Ala. That's certainly not what Gus Malzahn and Ted Roof, Auburn's two coordinators, are making ($500,000 and $407,000, respectively).
That salary gap needs to close.
Of course, even a big media deal isn't going to transform the Pac-12 culture into the SEC culture. The SEC averaged 76,719 in attendance last year. The Pac-10 averaged 53,819. No team in the Pac-12 averaged over 80,000 in attendance last year. Six did in the SEC.
It's hard to imagine the Pac-12 will significantly catch up in attendance figures in the near-term -- if ever. That's a revenue source that the conference can't match.
"That is a significant challenge," Mullens said. "There is a correlation -- I don't know if it has to be considered a direct correlation -- between resources and sustained success. When folks are packing 100,000-seat stadiums with donations for every seat, it's a game-changer."
But Mullens pointed out that sometimes creativity can help. Consider Oregon. It's carved out a specific niche. In a sport that has long emphasized tradition, the Ducks adopted a philosophy of seeking the new and, yes, sometimes outrageous.
"We need to stay true to what got us here," Mullens said. "We need to remain innovative. We need to remain hungry and be true to what has worked for us -- being cutting edge, willing to take some risks, whether that be uniforms or facilities."
Has that helped Oregon catch the elite of the SEC? After a late field goal by Auburn beat the Ducks in the national title game, they'll get a second go-around with the conference, on Sept. 3 against LSU at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas. The winner instantly becomes a leading national title contender. And fans from the winner's conference likely will be pretty obnoxious about the result.
[we know how that game turned out]
Whether Scott's savvy business-related moves help the conference end the SEC's stranglehold on football national championships remains a question. But what doesn't remain a question is the wisdom of Scott as a "nontraditional hire."
My megaconferences
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Re: My megaconferences
Originally Posted by Kokopelli
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