College basketball coaches March Madness bonuses earned: Rick Barnes already at $1 million
During the 2022-23 season, no men’s basketball coach at any NCAA Division I public school achieved $1 million in performance bonus money. Tennessee’s Rick Barnes already has gotten there this season, and a USA TODAY Sports analysis of coaches’ contracts shows that with the way the NCAA Tournament is progressing, he may have company.
Without including amounts schools could end up paying for the attainment of goals like coach-of-the-year honors not yet announced and team academic benchmarks, the coaches of three No. 1-seeded teams will reach $1 million if their team wins the national championship.
Two other coaches could get close to that total, and two more have attained benchmarks that activated multi-million-dollar contract extensions.
During the 2023 football season, two coaches topped $1 million in on-field bonuses: Michigan’s Jim Harbaugh (now with the NFL’s Los Angeles Chargers) and Washington’s Kalen DeBoer (now with Alabama).
Barnes − whose annual maximum bonus amount of $3 million is one of the most lucrative for a public-school coach in any sport − would add $1 million to his total for this season if Tennessee reaches the tournament final or $1.3 million if they win the title. His basic annual pay from the school this season is $5.7 million, and he is the only coach among the top five in this year's USA TODAY men's basketball coaches' pay survey whose team reached the tournament's second weekend.
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Connecticut’s Dan Hurley will add $1.2 million to his current bonus total of $450,000 if the Huskies become the first repeat champions since Florida in 2006 and ’07.
North Carolina’s Hubert Davis or Houston’s Kelvin Sampson would move their total into seven figures if their team takes home the trophy.
Alabama’s Nate Oats or Arizona’s Tommy Lloyd, each of whom have negotiated new contracts this season, could reach $900,000.
Then there are Kevin Keatts of North Carolina State and Brad Underwood of Illinois They have both hit goals that automatically extended their deals, adding millions in guaranteed value to their agreements.
As in past years, Purdue’s Matt Painter remains a wild card. If the No. 1-seeded Boilermakers reach at the Elite Eight, he will get a bonus that must be at least $142,000 — but is up to discretion of university president Mung Chiang, in consultation with athletics director Mike Bobinski. Since Purdue hasn’t been to the Final Four since 1980 and never has won a championship, if the Boilers can get through this weekend, he also might end up with a seven-figure incentives total.
Below is a school-by-school list for all coaches, alphabetical by school within each tournament, of bonus amounts achieved so far this season and amounts available in the regional semifinals and finals.
Except as noted, the list does not take into account contingencies that could alter or prevent payment of bonuses, such as academic achievement by players, the coach's departure from the school, future investigations and/or sanctions related to rules violations. It also does not include bonuses for national coach-of-the-year honors not yet announced, team academic performance (except as noted), attendance, season-ticket sales, or the value of tickets or perks tied to tournament participation.
Amounts for coaches at private schools are not available because those institutions are not required to release their employment contracts.
Alabama's Nate Oats
Has:
►$50,000: NCAA tournament bid
►$25,000: NCAA round of 32 appearance
►$25,000: NCAA round of 16 appearance
Can get:
►$25,000: NCAA round of 8 appearance
►$25,000: NCAA Final Four appearance
►$300,000: NCAA title game appearance
►$500,000: Win NCAA title
Arizona: Tommy Lloyd
Has:
►$20,000: 20 to 24 regular season wins
►$50,000: Pac-12 Conference regular title
►$25,000: NCAA round of 32 appearance
►$50,000: NCAA round of 16 appearance
Can get:
►$50,000: NCAA round of 8 appearance
►$175,000: NCAA Final Four appearance
►$500,000: Win NCAA title
►Best of:
--$20,000: No. 15 through 11 in final USA TODAY Coaches Poll or Associated Press media poll
--$30,000: No. 10 through No. 1 in either poll
Clemson: Brad Brownell
Has:
►$100,000: NCAA tournament bid
►$50,000: NCAA round of 32 appearance
►$50,000: NCAA round of 16 appearance
Can get:
►$75,000: NCAA round of 8 appearance
►$75,000: NCAA Final Four appearance
►$100,000: NCAA title game appearance
►$300,000: Win NCAA title
Connecticut: Dan Hurley
Has:
►$100,000: Big East regular season title
►$50,000: Big East coach of the year
►$100,000: Big East tournament title
►$50,000: NCAA tournament bid
►$50,000: NCAA round of 32 appearance
►$100,000: NCAA round of 16 appearance
Can get:
►$200,000: NCAA round of 8 appearance
►$200,000: NCAA Final Four appearance
►$200,000: NCAA title game appearance
►$500,000: Win NCAA title
►Best of:
--$50,000: No. 25 through 11 in final USA TODAY Coaches Poll or Associated Press media poll
--$100,000: No. 10 through No. 1 in either poll
Houston: Kelvin Sampson
Has:
►$50,000: National coach of the year by U.S. Basketball Writers Association
►$100,000: NCAA round of 16 appearance
Can get:
►$100,000: NCAA round of 8 appearance
►$300,000: NCAA Final Four appearance
►$500,000: Win NCAA title
Illinois: Brad Underwood
Has:
►$15,000: Win over Missouri
►$15,000: Win over Indiana
►$15,000: At least 10 wins in Big Ten regular season play
►$15,000: At least 20 regular season wins overall
►$50,000: Big Ten tournament title
►One-year contract extension; $50,000 bonus this season: NCAA tournament bid (Agreement now set to run through April 30, 2030. Scheduled total pay for that season is $5.3 million, with all of that amount currently guaranteed.)
►$25,000: NCAA round of 32 appearance
►$50,000: NCAA round of 16 appearance
Can get:
►$75,000: NCAA round of 8 appearance
►$100,000: NCAA Final Four appearance
►$125,000: NCAA title game appearance
►$250,000: Win NCAA title
Iowa State: T.J. Otzelberger
Has:
►$100,000: No. 2 seed in Big 12 tournament
►$100,000: Big 12 tournament title and NCAA tournament bid
►$50,000: NCAA round of 32 appearance
►$50,000: NCAA round of 16 appearance
Can get:
►$50,000: NCAA round of 8 appearance
►$50,000: NCAA Final Four appearance
►$50,000: NCAA title game appearance
►$50,000: Win NCAA title
North Carolina: Hubert Davis
Has:
►$50,000: ACC regular season title
►$25,000: ACC coach of the year
►$100,000: NCAA tournament bid
►$100,000: NCAA round of 32 appearance
►$75,000: NCAA round of 16 appearance
Can get:
►$200,000: NCAA round of 8 appearance
►$200,000: NCAA Final Four appearance
►$250,000: Win NCAA title
North Carolina State: Kevin Keatts
Has:
►Two-year contract extension; $400,000 raise, beginning next season; $100,000 bonus this season: ACC tournament title (Agreement now set to run through April 15, 2030. Additional years scheduled to add at least $5.4 million to contract’s remaining value, with at least $3 million of that amount guaranteed.)
►$25,000: NCAA tournament bid (round of 64)
►$25,000: NCAA round of 32 appearance
►$50,000: NCAA round of 16 appearance
Can get:
►$50,000: NCAA round of 8 appearance
►Additional $100,000 raise, beginning next season; $50,000 bonus this season: NCAA Final Four appearance
►$50,000: NCAA title game appearance
►Another $100,000 raise, beginning next season; $150,000 bonus this season: Win NCAA title
►Best of:
--$50,000: No. 25 through 11 in final USA TODAY Coaches Poll or Associated Press media poll
--$100,000: No. 10 through No. 1 in either poll
Purdue: Matt Painter
Has:
►$94,896: Big Ten Conference regular season title
►$47,448: Big Ten co-coach of the year
►$23,724: NCAA tournament bid
►$23,724: NCAA round of 32 appearance
*►$23,724: NCAA round of 16 appearance
Can get:
►$47,448 plus an amount to be determined by the university’s president in consultation with the athletics director, but no less than $94,896: NCAA round of 8 appearance
*►$47,448: NCAA Final Four appearance
*►$47,448: NCAA title game appearance
►$47,448: Win NCAA title
*Does not include $50,000 that Painter can get based on combination of team winning the Big Ten Conference regular-season standings and winning at least one game in the NCAA Tournament if, in addition, the team’s grade-point average for this academic year meets certain standards. This amount would increase to $75,000 if the team appears in the round 8 or to $100,000 if the team appears in the Final Four.
San Diego State: Brian Dutcher
Has:
►$25,000: NCAA tournament bid
►$10,000: NCAA round of 32 appearance
►$10,000: NCAA round of 16 appearance
Can get:
►$10,000: NCAA round of 8 appearance
►$85,000: NCAA Final Four appearance
►$110,000: NCAA title game appearance
►$10,000: Win NCAA title
►Best of:
--$10,000: No. 25 through 11 in final USA TODAY Coaches Poll or Associated Press media poll
--$25,000: No. 10 through No. 1 in either poll
Tennessee: Rick Barnes
Has:
►$400,000: SEC regular season title
►$200,000: NCAA tournament bid
►$200,000: NCAA round of 32 appearance
►$200,000: NCAA round of 16 appearance
Can get:
►$200,000: NCAA round of 8 appearance
►$200,000: NCAA Final Four appearance
►$200,000: NCAA title game appearance
►$300,000: Win NCAA title
►Best of:
--$100,000: No. 25 through 11 in final Associated Press media poll
--$200,000: No. 10 through No. 6 in final AP poll
--$400,000: No. 5 through No. 1 in final AP poll
