By Nicholas Harrison

With the Sooners’ win in the 2011 Fiesta Bowl, OU football coach Bob Stoops earned more than $4.5 million this year — making him the third-highest paid football coach in the NCAA.

According to his contract, Stoops earned $110,000 in performance bonuses for participating in the 2011 Fiesta Bowl and another $82,500 for finishing in the top 10 of the final BCS rankings, along with an automatic $200,000 raise on Jan. 1. His total compensation package for the year was $4,767,500.

Information regarding the revenue generated by the OU football program has not been released this year, but the US Department of Education reported the OU football program generated $58,295,888 in revenue in 2009.

Stoops’ contract is simply representative of his contribution to OU, said Kenny Mossman, senior associate athletics director of communications.

“While the university, and President Boren specifically, has been on record lamenting the salary structure of collegiate athletics, we understand the marketplace economics and strive to be competitive in all areas of university compensation to ensure the university attracts the best and brightest in all areas,” Mossman said.

Stoops was compensated in accordance with his peer group; his programs have consistently placed in the top five during the past decade and his compensation reflects that level of performance, Mossman said.

Stoops was the first head football coach to break the $3 million per year mark in guaranteed pay with his 2008 contract, USA Today reported.

“The team’s successes over the past decade have provided the university with immeasurable free publicity and exposure, having a profound impact on the university’s recruitment of top academic students,” Mossman continued. “His program’s success has had a direct impact on the university’s fundraising, improving the university experience for students by contributing to capital projects for student facilities and scholarships.”

The Athletics Department also claims it is one of the few completely self-sustaining programs in the country, not only operating without any money from either state appropriations or student tuition and fees, but also remitting over $7 million in excess revenue to support the institution’s academic mission. Mossman attributed this in large part to the success of the football program.

The minutes of the Faculty Senate indicate OU Athletic Director Joe Castiglione was questioned about coaching salaries when he addressed the Senate on May 11, 2009. He responded that the compensation was commiserate with the market, their performance and how their teams do overall – noting the salaries come from radio and television, corporate sponsorship, and licensing revenue, which would not be available without their success.

However, Stoops received only about 4 percent of his total compensation package from performance-based bonuses. According to his contract, Stoops must be paid before any other position, item or expense for the football program is funded. In the event he is terminated, the university must pay him $3 million for each year remaining under his contract unless he is fired for misconduct.

Castiglione addressed the Faculty Senate again on May 10, 2010 and declined to answer any questions on the subject — saying he was not at liberty to discuss coaching salaries.

Current Faculty Senate President LeRoy Blank declined to comment. However, former Faculty Senate Chair Aimee L. Franklin said, “Compensation is an important issue and certainly one that gets people’s attention in tight economic times.” She noted faculty had raised questions about the compensation structure of the athletics department at Faculty Senate meetings in the past.

The Daily contacted UOSA President Franz Zenteno, UOSA Vice President Cory Lloyd and UOSA Student Congress Chair Brett Stidham. However, all of these officers declined to comment. Speaking on behalf of UOSA as a whole, Stidham said, “UOSA is primarily concerned with serving students of the OU-Norman campus.”

Although UOSA Graduate Student Senate Chair Derrell Cox emphasized he could not speak officially for either UOSA or the Graduate Student Senate, he noted these were “significant and important questions.”

“Stoops has inculcated respect and excellence in his coaching staff and football players during his tenure at OU,” Cox said. “He has consistently led OU football to championship seasons, which is a direct reflection of his and his staff’s ability to attract and train good players from high schools and junior colleges. I think the case can be easily made that Stoops deserves the rewards he received.”

However, Grant DeLozier, political science and geographic information science junior with Students for Democratic Society, offered a different perspective, “The athletics budget shouldn’t be sacred in light of the fact that there are over 700 full-time workers making less than a living wage.”

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Based on last year’s university budget, he estimated every full-time worker could be paid a living wage of $13 per hour for about $3.8 million.

Cox also noted the pay may be inequitable because many OU employees were paid below the living wage. However, he thought it was a problem that had to be addressed at the national level. Cox said reducing their pay would only result in them leaving to seek higher paying jobs elsewhere – impacting the quality and revenue-generating capacity of the athletics department.

“It is my understanding that the OU athletic program is one of a few programs across the U.S. which turns a profit, and in OU’s case, actually subsidizes the university,” Cox said. “This is a testament to generous donors and loyal fans, as well as a well-managed program, which attracts high quality coaches, training, staff and student athletes who combine to deliver consistent performance.”