2026 NCAA men’s basketball head coach salaries methodology

USA TODAY Sports requested all forms of compensation for the men’s basketball head coach, and/or acquired the federal tax return, from each school in the Atlantic Coast, Big 12, Big Ten and Southeastern conferences and from prominent schools outside those conferences whose teams have appeared regularly in NCAA tournaments in the past five years. Except as noted, a not available (designated by “—" in the table) denotes schools that are private; did not release the information; or schools whose coaches are new. A $0 means the coach doesn’t get compensation from that source.

In cases where an athletically related outside-income report was unavailable, a coach’s compensation might be undercounted by thousands of dollars from that category alone. Figures for public schools are based on the coach’s contract year that covers, or covered, the 2025-26 season, including the most recently available base salary. COMPENSATION CATEGORIES SCHOOL PAY:  The most recently available base salary, except as noted; income from contract provisions other than base salary that are paid, or guaranteed, by the university or affiliated organizations, such as a foundation or an athletics department operating as a related non-profit organization.

Examples include payments in consideration for shoe and apparel use; television, radio or other media appearances; and personal appearances. It also includes deferred payments earned annually, conditional or otherwise; contractual expense accounts (if unaudited) and housing allowance; signing and other one-time bonuses considered to be earned in the current contract year. It does not include other amounts that might have been earned as annual incentive bonuses in other years, the value of standard university benefits such as health care or the value of potentially taxable items such as cars; country club memberships; game tickets for the regular season, postseason and other sports; the value of stadium suites; travel upgrades; spouse/family travel and game tickets; and amounts connected to transactions related to buyouts owed by coaches for terminating a contract with a prior employer.

OTHER PAY: Amounts listed on the coach’s most recently available, self-reported athletically related outside-income report. Some public schools, citing public records disclosure exemptions, do not provide the outside-income report. TOTAL PAY: Sum of School Pay and Other Pay.