"Earlier this year, Pennsylvania State University announced it would close seven campuses due to financial constraints, while Louisiana State University implemented a hiring freeze and other cost-cutting measures. Months later both institutions fired their head football coaches-for a price. Despite Penn State's financial challenges, administrators were willing to pay more than $45 million to make head coach James Franklin go away after the Nittany Lions posted a 6-3 record. LSU fired Brian Kelly after a 5-3 start and gave him a buyout of $54 million."
"Recent data compiled by the Knight Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics shows that failing is a lucrative business for college football coaches. Fifteen fired football coaches have already racked up collective buyouts of nearly $228 million from public universities, compared to $120 million in fiscal year 2024. (Those totals are for Football Bowl Subdivision coaches only, formerly known as Division I-A, and only include public universities, since private institutions don't release such contract details.)"
"The Knight Commission noted that individual coaching buyouts this year "are the second, third, fourth, and fifth highest severance pay obligations in history." The top slot still belongs to Texas A&M University, which fired Jimbo Fisher in 2023 with an exit package of more than $75 million."
Penn State announced the closure of seven campuses and LSU imposed a hiring freeze and other austerity measures. Both universities later fired their head football coaches and approved very large buyouts: Penn State moved to pay more than $45 million for James Franklin and LSU gave Brian Kelly a $54 million buyout. Franklin's package later dropped to $9 million after he took a new job, and Kelly's payout will shrink if he is rehired. The Knight Commission reports 15 fired FBS coaches have accumulated nearly $228 million in buyouts from public universities this year, up from $120 million in fiscal 2024.
Read at Inside Higher Ed | Higher Education News, Events and Jobs
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]