The Guide to Assistant Football Coaching for fun and profit

Riddle: How many highly paid assistant college football coaches does it take to get into the Texas Bowl?
Answer: Nine.

This tale of overpaid coaches is a front page story of the Bergen Record. Why? because it so obviously demonstrates the lopsided value system that governs our institutions of higher education. First the sidebar:

What they're paid

Rutgers full-time assistant football coaches got hefty raises, even as the program struggled to break even financially. Each of these coaches also gets an annual car stipend of $7,200 and a bowl bonus of one month's salary. The hikes came as the rest of the university was dealing with unprecedented cutbacks.

These are some of the assistant coaches, their 2007 salaries and the percentage increase.

1. Jay Butler $125,675 (10.1%)
2. Chris Demarest $143,000 (10%)
3. John McNulty $160,000 (23.1%)
4. Kyle Flood $122,500 (22.5%)
5. Joseph Susan $144,000 (15.2%)
6. Cary Godette $143,000 (10%)
7. Darren Rizzi $145,750 (10%)
8. Robert Jackson $115,000 (9.5%)
9. Craig Ver Steeg $185,000 (7.8%)

Now the facts. In November the Record told us, "Coach Greg Schiano, who's led the Scarlet Knights to an 8-0 start, is the highest paid state employee and will make more than $1 million this year. The university also pays $998 a month for his Cadillac Escalade and has spent at least $158,000 preparing a piece of its ecological preserve that Schiano bought to build a new home."

Today they tell us more:

Rutgers assistants get raises while university slashes jobs
By JEAN RIMBACH and PATRICIA ALEX

Special Report: Rutgers' price of glory

Rutgers University gave hefty raises this season to football coach Greg Schiano's inner circle, with one assistant getting a bump of nearly $30,000, according to a review of employment contracts.

Most of Schiano's six-figure coaching assistants got double-digit raises even as the university reeled under state budget cuts that forced the elimination of 825 jobs.

Salaries for nine coaches now range between $115,000 and $185,000, according to the contracts obtained by The Record under the state's Open Public Records Act. Each also gets a $7,200 annual car stipend and an additional one month's pay -- a bonus for getting the Scarlet Knights into the Texas Bowl.

The contracts for 2006-07 were signed in the fall as the team embarked on its most successful season, one that saw the once-downtrodden program crack the national rankings for the first time in 30 years.

At the same time, the rest of the university was suffering from nearly $80 million in state aid cuts that resulted in the job cuts and cancellation of at least 459 course sections. Athletic Director Robert E. Mulcahy III also announced plans to cut six high-performing Olympic sports that cost a combined $800,000.

But football was spared the pain. As much as $3 million from the university was pumped into the $13 million football budget this season.

Mulcahy said he hoped that increased revenues from ticket sales would close the gap and allow the program to be self-supporting as early as next season. Experts say it generally takes consistent winning seasons for programs to begin to turn a profit.

Mulcahy said season-ticket sales for next season's home games already have doubled to 23,000 and sellouts are anticipated. When asked about possible expansion of the 41,500-seat stadium in Piscataway, Mulcahy said: "We have to look at all options. I'm a businessman."

Schiano will be paid more than $1.13 million for 2006-07 as a series of bonuses has kicked in for milestones in the team's winning season. The coach's contract, which runs through 2012, also provides him with a Cadillac Escalade.

The contract may be renegotiated upward, however, after the team's celebrated 11-2 season. Schiano, 40, won several national coaching awards, sparking interest from other teams. The charismatic coach has also snagged some of the nation's top recruits for next year.

"I am going to treat him fairly, given all the great interest in him,'' Mulcahy said, when asked whether Schiano will get a better contract....