The Wages of a Successful College Basketball Coach

Leila J. Pratt, E. Bruce Hutchinson
(Department of Economics, College of Arts & Sciences, University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, USA)

Abstract: The present study examines the compensation of Division I men’s basketball coaches whose team appeared in the 2012 NCAA Tournament. Salary is hypothesized to be a function of a set of coach characteristics as well as the college’s conference affiliation. Coaching characteristics include head coaching experience measured in years both at the coach’s current school and any prior school; the head coach’s winning percentage at his present school and any prior school, and his head coaching NCAA records. The experience variables should act as a measure of investment in human capital and be positively related to compensation. Winning percentage and NCAA games and championships won should act as a measure of job performance and also be positively related to compensation.

Key words: compensation; NCAA basketball tournament; BCS conference

JEL codes: J33, L83