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Baylor coach Art Briles made nearly $6 million in 2014

The ranks of college football coaches who have made at least $5 million in a season have grown again.

The ranks of college football coaches who have made at least $5 million in a season have grown again.

 Baylor’s Art Briles was credited with nearly $6 million in total compensation during the 2014 calendar year, according to the university’s new federal tax return, which shows him with more than $5.3 million in base pay.

Briles’ new base pay figure represents a nearly $1.7 million increase over the one reported for him for the 2013 calendar year. It is almost 150% more than the $2.16 million in base pay reported for Briles for 2011.

   During the 2015 season, there were seven public-school coaches making at least $5 million, not including bonuses or the value of benefits and perks, according to USA TODAY Sports’ annual compensation survey. Alabama’s Nick Saban, Michigan’s Jim Harbaugh, Ohio State’s Urban Meyer, Oklahoma’s Bob Stoops, Florida State’s Jimbo Fisher, Texas’ Charlie Strong and Texas A&M’s Kevin Sumlin.

DATABASE:  Football coaches' salaries

 Baylor’s new return — provided by the school Friday in response to a request from USA TODAY Sports — reports that Briles’ $5,941,619 in total compensation included:

   ►$5,321,540 in base pay.

   ►$540,000 in bonuses and incentives.

   ►$28,080 in retirement and other deferred compensation.

   Briles received an additional $5,000 in apparel from Nike, the document said.

   Baylor has come under scrutiny recently for its handling of a series of sexual assault cases involving football players. Last fall the school announced it had hired a Philadelphia law firm to “conduct a thorough and independent external investigation into the university’s handling of cases of alleged sexual violence.” 

   The new tax return does not say what achievements or events resulted in Briles’ bonus compensation. During 2013 season, Baylor had an 11-2 record, won the Big 12 Conference championship and played in the Fiesta Bowl, in which it lost to Central Florida. During the 2014 season, Baylor went 11-2 again, won another Big 12 title (shared with TCU) and played in the Cotton Bowl, in which it lost to Michigan State. 

  

 

Like other private schools, Baylor does not make public its employment contracts.

   Briles has a 65-37 record in his eight seasons at Baylor, which has won at least 10 games four times in the past five seasons. His contract was extended after the 2011 season and again after 2012 season. In November 2013, he received a 10-year contract.

   Baylor’s tax return provided the 2014 calendar-year compensation for other athletics personnel:

   ►Women’s basketball coach Kim Mulkey was reported with more than $2.1 million in total pay, with nearly $1.85 million as base pay. Connecticut coach Geno Auriemma’s basic pay for the 2015-16 season was $2.17 million.

   ►Men’s basketball coach Scott Drew was reported with just over $2.8 million ($2.55 million base), football defensive coordinator Phil Bennett nearly $1.2 million (almost $950,000 base), then-offensive coordinator Philip Montgomery, now the head coach at Tulsa, with almost $760,000 (nearly $580,000 base) and athletics director Ian McCaw with just under $815,000 ($600,000 base, $110,000 in bonuses). 

   For its surveys of athletics compensation, USA TODAY Sports bases compensation totals for public-school employees on current-year or current-season figures found in contracts, NCAA forms and other documents obtained through public records requests. It does not include payments associated with buyouts, the value of standard employee benefits or potentially taxable perks such as tickets, country club memberships or family travel. In addition, USA TODAY Sports reports the maximum amount of bonuses that potentially can be earned during the applicable year or season.

    However, depending on the terms of the contract, the figures for total pay that USA TODAY Sports reports do include the amounts of certain forms of deferred compensation based on when they are accrued rather than paid.

    For private schools, USA TODAY Sports' are based on amounts totals reported in the schools' federal tax records — and those totals include the value of all taxable benefits, various non-taxable benefits and the amounts of bonuses actually paid.

    Because private schools are organized as non-profit organizations, they must annually file a tax return that includes information about the pay of their most highly compensated employees. Although the returns mostly cover fiscal years that involve parts of two calendar years, the IRS requires that the compensation reporting cover the most recently completed calendar year.

    Due to the complexity of their returns, large colleges and universities routinely take filing extensions that result in a significant time lag between the period covered by their most recent return and the date they file.

    Baylor’s new return covers a tax year from June 1, 2014 through May 31, 2015, making 2014 the most recently completed calendar year.

 

 

 

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