Diverse recently conducted a survey in order to compare the compensation and salary packages of head coaches at public historically Black colleges and universities.

Thirty-three of the 47 public HBCUs responded to the survey, a statistically significant 70 percent. A full analysis was conducted for football and both women’s and men’s basketball. The review contains data on base and total compensation. Base compensation is defined as the total public funds that the head coach received during the 2006-2007 academic year. Total compensation includes any additional compensation from revenue generated at camps, and incentive bonuses, for having an academically successful team or winning championships, among other things.

The survey was sent to the human resource and athletic departments of the HBCUs this past spring. Some of the coaches may have left since then, so keep in mind this was the compensation for the coach during the 2006-07 academic year. Since the tables are long, we’ll provide football coaches salaries today and basketball next week.

Roughly 90 percent of Division I public HBCU football teams, 18 in all, responded to the survey. Based on the data, Southern University’s Pete Richardson was the highest paid Division I head football coach in 2006-07, earning a base salary of $200,000 and an additional $10,000 end-of-year bonus. The lowest paid was Savannah State University’s Theo Lemon at $65,000. The average salary was roughly $133,587, while the median salary was $135,851. Most of the HBCU football teams are in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference and Southwestern Athletic Conference.

How do the salaries of head coaches at HBCUs compare to their average counterparts? According to the USA Today 2006 analysis on compensation for Division I college football coaches, the highest paid coach was University of Iowa’s Kirk Ferentz, who received a total compensation package of $2.8 million. Bob Stoops of Oklahoma is now the highest paid coach in Division I at $3.6 million, according to USA Today.