The Flutie Effect and the Salaries of College Coaches

The impact that college athletics can have on admission rates is sometimes referred to as the Flutie Effect. The phrase is named after former Boston College quarterback Doug Flutie.

In 1984, Flutie threw a Hail Mary pass in the closing seconds to lift his team to an exciting win over one of the premier football powerhouses at the time, the University of Miami.

The two years following the highly publicized game applications to Boston College surged about 30 percent.

A recent study found that winning the NCAA football or men’s basketball title gave schools an application increase of about 8 percent. Even success in non-title, high-profile games were found to produce small increases.

Flap Over UConn Coach’s Salary

The insidious importance placed on college athletics came to a head this past week when a political activist asked UConn basketball coach Jim Calhoun about his status as Connecticut’s highest-paid state employee at $1.6 million. The activist wondered aloud if he the coach would consider giving some of his pay back given the severe budget crisis facing the state.

Calhoun, well known for his temper, responded before the person was even finished posing his question with “Not a dime.” In the taped interchange, the coach first told the questioner he was stupid and then told him to shut up.

At one point Calhoun indicated he earned even more than the number suggested. He also finished with a tirade that essentially suggested he should be above being questioned about his salary since his basketball team generates $12 million a year in revenues for the school.

Calhoun in his press conference:

Response Panned Across the State

Connecticut governor Jodi Rell weighed in on the Calhoun salary controversy – she said that she found Calhoun’s response “embarrassing.”

Rell went on to suggest that if “Coach Calhoun had the opportunity right now, he would welcome a do-over and not have that embarrassing display.”

In addition to the strong response from Rell, the leaders of the Connecticut General Assembly’s higher education committee insisted that Calhoun should be reprimanded for his tirade. State Senator Mary Ann Handley and Representative Roberta Willis went on to say that “Calhoun’s outburst did not reflect well on him or the state’s flagship university.”

In an editorial in the Boston Globe, the staff penned a piece called “Basketball: An etiquette coach he’s not.” Essentially likening him to a porcupine, the Globe staff wrote:

“It was an arrogant, off-putting performance, one that demonstrates that, for all his knowledge about basketball, Coach Calhoun still has a lot to learn about manners.”

Still others went on to check Calhoun’s assertion that the men’s basketball program brings in $12 million annually. Turns out the figure is about $7 million, a far cry from the coach’s number, but a figure that demonstrates the incredible emphasis being placed on campus sports teams.

The Sad State of College Athletics

While the response of Calhoun was truly troubling, the episode was a clear indication of an out of control culture, one that does in fact breed arrogance. College athletics has become big money and few schools are responding according to their true mission, one that places the greatest emphasis on academics.

Currently 39 private institutions pay their men’s basketball coach, football coach, or athletic director more than any other employee. More than they pay their best professors. More even than they pay their president.

While it is difficult to imagine an annual salary of $1.5 million for coaching college basketball, that salary does not stand out in today’s coaching circles. Pete Carroll, the University of Southern California football coach, reportedly earns $4.4 million in total compensation, while Duke basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski earns $2.2 million.

These findings represent the combined research of the Chronicle of Higher Education research and that of the Boston Globe. The newspaper went on to point out that a number of coaches at public universities (a la Calhoun) receive similarly high salaries. However, those figures can be difficult to obtain because state institutions are not required to report the information to the IRS.

Athletic Arms Race

In addition to the so-called Flutie effect, one that affects general admission results, another term has been coined. Sociologist Harry Edwards at the University of California at Berkeley uses the term “athletic arms race” to describe what is taking place in many colleges.

Colleges currently spend exorbitant amounts in a quest for supremacy in recruiting and competition. But the expenditures come in forms other than just dollars and sense.

A recent article in the Duke Chronicle reveals some of the hypocrisy that emerges when athletics gains such status.

At Duke, for the Class of 2007, the 768 male non-athletes admitted to the school posted an average SAT score of 1,438. The 42 recruited athletes at the school posted an average of 1,172. The 266-point gap for males was astonishing yet there also was a 145-point gap for females.

But in the major sports, the money makers for schools, the data is even more troubling. The 22 football players posted average scores of 1,063 while the five men’s basketball players averaged 997.

Yes, Duke, long considered one of the finest education institutions in the country is selling its academic soul in the rush that is big money college athletics.

Our Culture

However, it is the American culture today. High-profile sports teams are a vital source of pride for the state and community. They also form a large portion of a school’s identity – just ask Boston College or Doug Flutie.

The result is an arrogance that is most troubling. And though Rell, whose salary is $150,000, called out Calhoun’s response, she stopped short of answering whether the coach should in fact take a pay cut.

Meanwhile, the sorry culture continues. While it is probably too much to ask that pro athletes be role models for young adults, one would think that it was a requirement for college coaches.

But once they begin earning seven figure salaries it appears that some strange things can happen. In certain cases, those coaches begin to believe, like many pro athletes, that they are actually worth what they are being paid.

Flickr photos courtesy of libdespot, robjtak and rshannonsmith.