This week’s NCAA men’s basketball tournament round of 16 is where three different approaches to rewarding a coach for his team’s success meet.
Tennessee, stacking bonus upon bonus for Rick Barnes, faces Southeastern Conference rival Kentucky, which has been setting up an increasingly lucrative present and future for Mark Pope through a contract extension and bonuses.
Meanwhile, a USA TODAY analysis of coaches’ contracts shows that Arkansas coach John Calipari is the only public-school men’s basketball head coach at a Power Four conference school whose agreement does not include a prescribed set of lump-sum bonuses. But the Razorbacks’ tournament bid meant an automatic one-year contract extension, plus a $50,000 raise starting next season. And each of their victories so far has meant an increase to that raise, which now is set to total $250,000.
Altogether, Calipari’s 10th-seeded team being among the tournament’s final 16 teams has added just over $8.7 million to the scheduled value of his contract, with just over $6.15 million guaranteed if he were to be fired without cause.
Calipari — who moved to Arkansas from Kentucky after last season — had been scheduled to make $8.5 million from Kentucky this season and $9 million next season.
He is making $8 million from Arkansas this season, including a $1 million signing bonus, and had been set to make $7.5 million next season, absent an NCAA appearance this season.
Pope, his successor with the Wildcats, got no bonuses from SEC regular-season or conference tournament play, as Auburn won the former title and Florida the latter. So, he needed the team to make the NCAA Tournament round of 16 to get any incentive. Kentucky has done so, an achievement that gives Pope a $50,000 bonus and a one-year contract extension. That added year is set to follow his scheduled set of annual pay increases and be worth $6.25 million.
Barnes, meanwhile, won’t hit his $3 million annual bonus maximum — the largest for a public-school basketball coach — because of how the regular season played out.
However, he picked up a $200,000 bonus for the Vols’ NCAA Tournament appearance, a $200,000 bonus for their first-round win and a $200,000 bonus for their second-round win. Being in the Sweet 16 all but assures them of being ranked no worse than No. 25 through No. 11 in the final Associated Press media poll, which would give Barnes an additional $100,000 bonus.
His $700,000 total is more than double the next-greatest lump-sum bonus total for any coach to this point. And it comes atop $5.8 million in scheduled basic pay from the school for this season, an amount that makes Barnes the seventh-highest-paid basketball coach in the nation this season.
This will be on top of the combined $3.6 million in bonuses, including those for team academic performance, that Barnes collected over the three previous seasons. Those seasons, sequentially, have ended in the round of 32, the round of 16 and the round of 8.
NCAA FORECAST: How our experts predict the Sweet 16 and beyond
SWEET 16 RESEED: Ranking the remaining NCAA teams from best to worst
If Tennessee reaches the Final Four this season, he’ll again surpass $1 million in bonuses. That’s a total only one other public-school coach whose team remains in the tournament can reach — Houston’s Kelvin Sampson. And Sampson would need to lead the Cougars to the national championship to get there.
Below is a school-by-school list for all coaches, alphabetical by school within each tournament, of bonus amounts achieved so far this season and amounts available for the remainder of the tournament.
Except as noted, the list does not take into account contingencies that could alter or prevent payment of bonuses, such as academic achievement by players, the coach’s departure from the school, future investigations and/or sanctions related to rules violations. It also does not include bonuses for national coach-of-the-year honors not yet announced, team academic performance (except as noted), attendance, season-ticket sales, or the value of tickets or perks tied to tournament participation.
In addition, it does not include bonuses and/or pay increases for assistant coaches, staff and athletics directors that also may be resulting from these achievements.
Amounts for coaches at private schools — Brigham Young and Duke — are not available because those institutions are not required to release their employment contracts.
Alabama’s Nate Oats
Has:
►$50,000: NCAA Tournament bid
►$25,000: NCAA round of 32 appearance
►$25,000: NCAA round of 16 appearance
Can get:
►$25,000: NCAA round of 8 appearance
►$25,000: NCAA Final Four appearance
►$300,000: NCAA title game appearance
►$200,000: Win NCAA title
Arizona’s Tommy Lloyd
Has:
►$20,000: 20 to 24 regular-season wins
►$25,000: NCAA round of 32 appearance
►$50,000: NCAA round of 16 appearance
Can get:
►$50,000: NCAA round of 8 appearance
►$175,000: NCAA Final Four appearance
►$500,000: Win NCAA title
►Best of:
–$20,000: No. 15 through 11 in final USA TODAY Coaches Poll or Associated Press media poll
–$30,000: No. 10 through No. 1 in either poll
Arkansas’ John Calipari
Note: Calipari can get no lump sum bonuses.
Has:
►1-year contract extension, $50,000 raise, beginning next season: NCAA Tournament bid (Agreement set to run through April 30, 2030.)
►Additional $50,000 raise: NCAA round of 32 appearance
►Additional $150,000 raise: NCAA round of 16 appearance (Scheduled total pay for added contract year now stands at $7.75 million, with $5,437,500 guaranteed.)
Can get:
►Additional $100,000 raise: NCAA Final Four appearance
►Additional $150,000 raise: Win NCAA title
Auburn’s Bruce Pearl
Has:►$100,000: Southeastern Conference regular-season title
►$50,000: SEC coach of the year
►$50,000: NCAA Tournament bid
►$50,000: NCAA round of 16 appearance
Can get:
►$100,000: NCAA round of 8 appearance
►$100,000: NCAA Final Four appearance
►$100,000: NCAA championship game appearance
►$200,000: Win NCAA title
Florida’s Todd Golden
Has:
►$25,000: SEC tournament title
►$37,500: NCAA Tournament bid
►$37,500: NCAA round of 16 appearance
Can get:
►$25,000: NCAA Final Four appearance
►$50,000: Win NCAA title
Houston’s Kelvin Sampson
Has:
►$100,000: NCAA round of 16 appearance
Can get:
►$100,000: NCAA round of 8 appearance
►$300,000: NCAA Final Four appearance
►$500,000: Win NCAA title
Kentucky’s Mark Pope
Has:
►1-year contract extension, $50,000 bonus: NCAA round of 16 appearance (Agreement set to run through March 31, 2030. Scheduled total pay for added contract year is $6.25 million, with $4,687,500 guaranteed.)
Can get:
►$50,000: NCAA round of 8 appearance
►$150,000: NCAA Final Four appearance
►$250,000: Win NCAA title
Maryland’s Kevin Willard
Has:
►$25,000: NCAA Tournament bid
►$30,000: NCAA round of 32 appearance
►$75,000: NCAA round of 16 appearance
Can get:
►$75,000: NCAA round of 8 appearance
►$50,000: NCAA Final Four appearance
►$50,000: NCAA championship game appearance
►$150,000: Win NCAA title
Michigan’s Dusty May
Note: School has announced it reached new contract agreement with May, but school has not yet released that document.
Has:
►$50,000: Big Ten Conference tournament title
►$50,000: NCAA Tournament bid (round of 64)
►$25,000: NCAA round of 32 appearance
►$25,000: NCAA round of 16 appearance
Can get:
►$50,000: NCAA round of 8 appearance
►$50,000: NCAA Final Four appearance
►$100,000: NCAA championship game appearance
►$100,000: Win NCAA title
Michigan State’s Tom Izzo
Has:
►$100,000: Big Ten Conference regular-season title
►$25,000: NCAA Tournament bid
►$75,000: NCAA round of 16 appearance
Can get:
►$150,000: NCAA Final Four appearance*
►$300,000: Win NCAA title*
*Does not include amounts Izzo receives from Nike if the team appears in the Final Four ($25,000) and if the team wins the national championship ($50,000).
Mississippi’s Chris Beard
Has:
►$100,000: NCAA Tournament bid
►$50,000: NCAA round of 32 appearance
►$50,000: NCAA round of 16 appearance
Can get:
►$50,000: NCAA round of 8 appearance
►$125,000: NCAA Final Four appearance
Note: Beard’s total bonuses based on NCAA Tournament play are capped at $375,000.
Purdue’s Matt Painter
Has:
►$30,000: NCAA Tournament bid
►$30,000: NCAA round of 32 appearance
►$30,000: NCAA round of 16 appearance
Can get:
►$60,000 plus an amount to be determined by the university’s president in consultation with the athletics director, but the additional amount must be at least $120,000: NCAA round of 8 appearance
►$60,000: NCAA Final Four appearance
►$60,000: NCAA championship game appearance
►$60,000: Win NCAA title
Tennessee’s Rick Barnes
Has:
►$200,000: NCAA tournament bid
►$200,000: NCAA round of 32 appearance
►$200,000: NCAA round of 16 appearance
Can get:
►$200,000: NCAA round of 8 appearance
►$200,000: NCAA Final Four appearance
►$200,000: NCAA championship game appearance
►$300,000: Win NCAA title
►Best of:
–$100,000: No. 25 through 11 in final Associated Press media poll
–$200,000: No. 10 through No. 6 in final AP poll
–$400,000: No. 5 through No. 1 in final AP poll
Texas Tech’s Grant McCasland
Has:
►$50,000: NCAA Tournament bid, excluding First Four
►$50,000: NCAA round of 32 appearance
►$50,000: NCAA round of 16 appearance
Can get:
►$50,000: NCAA round of 8 appearance
►$75,000: NCAA Final Four appearance
►$150,000: Win NCAA title
►Best of:
–$10,000: No. 25 through 11 in final USA TODAY Coaches or Associated Press media poll
–$25,000: No. 10 through No. 1 in final AP poll