University of Maryland football coaches received more than $671,000 in signing bonuses for mid-level bowl games that did not benefit the school, according to budget records obtained by the Baltimore Sun.
More than a dozen coaches split a $671,063 bonus for Duke's 2022 Mayo Bowl appearance and victory. A year later, Maryland paid the coach an additional $682,012 for the Music City Bowl in December, which the Terps also won, according to financial records obtained through the University of Maryland. Public relations law and interviews with athletics department staff.
“It's unfortunate that you have to pay,” said Karen Weaver, author of several books on college sports finance and a professor at the University of Pennsylvania's Graduate School of Education.
While a $1.35 million bonus seems like a lot for a team that went 8-10 in Big Ten Conference play over the past two seasons, Weaver says the expense is a sign that the competition for talent in college athletics is accelerating. he said.
Maryland's 2022 bowl bonus of $671,063 exceeded the entire recruiting budgets for men's basketball ($343,322) and women's basketball ($198,715) combined.
Due to high travel, lodging and other expenses, the Duke-Mayo Bowl, played in front of 37,228 fans in Charlotte, North Carolina, in December 2022, was a net loss for Maryland.
According to budget figures listed in its annual report to the NCAA dated Jan. 12, the university spent $1.1 million (plus coaches' bonuses) and earned $1.6 million in games, resulting in a net loss of $176,302. It was a dollar.
According to the school, the budget for the Music City Bowl, which was held on December 30 of last year, has not yet been released.
Maryland defeated North Carolina State in the Duke-Mayo Bowl, known for the tradition of dousing winning coaches with mayonnaise. The Terps defeated Auburn in the Music City Bowl. Combined with defeating Virginia Tech in the 2021 Pinstripe Bowl, Maryland has won three consecutive postseason games for the first time.
Athletics department spokesman Jason Yellin said there is inherent value in attending a bowl game. He said the games will excite the fan base, provide national exposure to help recruit players, and give teams a head start on next season by allowing postseason practices, which are not allowed under NCAA rules. He said he would give it.
“We are the first team in history to win a bowl game three seasons in a row,” Yellin said. “So I think these are great advances and an indication that the future is really strong.”
Maryland's athletics program receives no state funding. However, Maryland and many other schools require students to contribute. Maryland's undergraduate athletics fee is $399 a year, which means students are helping “subsidize” the athletics budget, Weaver said.
Last school year, the department raised $11.7 million in student fees. This is his third-largest source of income behind the $57.1 million he received in distributions in the Big Ten Conference and $12.8 million in overall ticket sales.
Big bonuses are increasingly pervasive in the college sports world. According to USA Today, the nation's top public school coach is former Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh, who amassed a $3 million bonus during last season's national championship run, with Harbaugh's total salary at $800. It was reported to be over $1,000. He is currently the coach of the NFL's Los Angeles Chargers.
The Knight Committee on Intercollegiate Athletics, a watchdog group, said in a statement after its November meeting that spending on football coaches is “exorbitant” compared to spending on student-athletes' scholarships and other needs. '' he said he was concerned about. There is also a growing push for players to be directly compensated for their participation as media rights contracts soar. In 2022, the Big Ten agreed to seven-year deals with Fox, CBS and NBC that will bring in more than $1 billion in annual revenue.
The number of bowls won by Maryland is one notch lower than college football's top postseason contests.
The top bowls are the “New Year's Six,” which features famous games such as the Rose Bowl, Orange Bowl, Sugar Bowl, and includes two College Football Playoff national semifinals.
The Music City Bowl and the Dukes-Mayo Bowl feature teams from major conferences, providing exposure for participating schools at a time when most other college football teams' seasons are over. However, they have not participated in the national playoffs and have not received as much attention as the New Year's Six.
Maryland coach Michael Locksley received the largest Duke-Mayo Bowl bonus of $220,000, which the school said was divided among 18 coaches and staff.
According to his contract, Locksley received $50,000 for the team to participate in the bowl game. He would receive $250,000 if he advances to the four-team College Football Playoff.
Locksley also collected $70,000 for winning the bowl game and $100,000 for winning seven regular season games. Maryland finished 7-5 before winning a bowl game.
Mr. Locksley earned $5.5 million in 2023. That's $4.9 million in extra income per year on top of his $600,000 salary. This also includes the raises the team received in 2022 and early 2023 after the team won eight games and back-to-back bowl games for the first time since 2010.
Maryland joined the Big Ten in 2014, two years after budget constraints forced it to eliminate seven sports teams. Its purpose was to stabilize the athletic department's finances and improve the football program.
Maryland's record in Big Ten Conference football games is 27-57. The 8-10 record in 2022 and 2023 is the best record in the two years since joining the conference.
