I'm not surprised, and I disagree with the writer that these levels of compensation are unfair. I think that a good university is one that promotes several sphe

I'm not surprised, and I disagree with the writer that these levels of compensation are unfair. I think that a good university is one that promotes several spheres of self improvement - academic, athletic, artistic, and the like. As a university student myself, I would be disappointed with my school if it shunned athletics as a lesser endeavor. If a university can promote great academics while also fielding a winning football team, that shows real accomplishment. A large university might have several hundred professors, but it only has one head football coach. Even if you consider a coaching staff (none of which individually make as much as the head coach), you're only talking about a dozen or two individuals at most. However, a university gains a lot more notoriety by having a winning football team than it does by having a well published professor. If you were in charge, who would you pay more? Don't answer before considering all the alumni that you have to keep happy if you want to keep your job. Edit: Also consider that once a professor is tenured, it takes a lot for him/her to mess up and get fired. However, as soon as a football coach has a losing season, his future employment is up for reconsideration. The bigger paycheck also means a lot less job security.