The COVID-19 pandemic’s impacts on the 2020 college football season included all manner of changes to head coaches’ bonus plans.
Some coaches agreed to waive or reduce incentive payments as part of pay reductions due to their respective athletics departments’ financial difficulties. Some schools temporarily suspended incentive programs for all of their coaches. And altered schedules made certain achievements that normally would have meant bonuses or other rewards all but impossible to reach.
But all of this has returned to normal this season — and coaches have been racking up extra cash since the opening weekend. This past week alone, Football Bowl Subdivision public-school head coaches claimed just under $1.1 million in bonuses.
Overall, they are set for a combined total of more than $4.25 million so far. Iowa’s Kirk Ferentz has the top total at $600,000, including the $500,000 award he picked up this past Saturday when the Hawkeyes reached eight wins for the season.
Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz (right) earned a $500,000 bonus after his team beat Minnesota on Saturday.
In addition, four coaches have reached benchmarks that assure them of a one-year contract extension: Arkansas’ Sam Pittman, Kentucky’s Mark Stoops, Oregon’s Mario Cristobal and Oregon State’s Jonathan Smith.
Pittman and Eastern Michigan’s Chris Creighton also are now guaranteed new pay increases, beginning next season.
USA TODAY COACHING SALARY DATABASE: See total pay and buyout figures for college football coaches
So, USA TODAY Sports again is tracking on a weekly basis the amounts public-school football head coaches are scheduled to receive and for what achievements. The information is based on contracts obtained from the schools through open-records requests and is updated through the games of Nov. 13. The list is alphabetical, by school.
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