As one of just nine coaches in men’s college basketball history with 700-plus wins and multiple national championships, Kansas coach Bill Self (above) is in the upper echelons of the sport’s elite. Now, he has a salary to match.
Kansas amended Self’s lifetime contract with the school to be a five-year rolling contract—with the first iteration of it paying him a reported $53 million over five years. When he won his second national title in 2022, the 60-year-old was making $10.2 million, but his 2023 pay dropped due to the structure of the contract.
With the new deal, Self reclaims the title of the nation’s highest-paid men’s college basketball coach after Kentucky’s John Calipari briefly supplanted him.
Michigan State’s Tom Izzo, Auburn’s Bruce Pearl, and Tennessee’s Rick Barnes round out the top five, all making over $5 million in a season.
Top 25 Coaches 2023 to ’24
Here are the top 25 highest-paid coaches in men’s college basketball, using data from USA Today based on the 2023-24 season but taking into account coaching changes, compensation data, and the latest information.
- Updated: March 15, 2024
- Will be updated again: October 2024
| Rank | Coach | School | Total Pay | Conf. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bill Self | Kansas | $9,625,642 | Big 12 |
| 2 | John Calipari | Kentucky | $8,539,961 | SEC |
| 3 | Tom Izzo | Michigan St | $6,196,169 | Big Ten |
| 4 | Bruce Pearl | Auburn | $5,716,652 | SEC |
| 5 | Rick Barnes | Tennessee | $5,700,000 | SEC |
| 6 | Scott Drew | Baylor | $5,132,821 | Big 12 |
| 7 | Dan Hurley | UConn | $5,000,000 | Big East |
| 8 | Brad Underwood | Illinois | $4,700,000 | Big Ten |
| 9 | Kelvin Sampson | Houston | $4,610,000 | Big 12 |
| 10 | Nate Oats | Alabama | $4,530,045 | SEC |
| 11 | Buzz Williams | Texas A&M | $4,487,215 | SEC |
| 12 | Eric Musselman | Arkansas | $4,245,850 | SEC |
| 13 | Mike Woodson | Indiana | $4,200,000 | Big Ten |
| 14 | Mick Cronin | UCLA | $4,100,000 | Pac-12 |
| 15 | Tommy Lloyd | Arizona | $4,100,000 | Pac-12 |
| 16 | Tony Bennett | Virginia | $4,021,787 | ACC |
| 17 | Dennis Gates | Missouri | $4,000,000 | SEC |
| 18 | Dana Altman | Oregon | $4,000,000 | Pac-12 |
| 19 | Kevin Willard | Maryland | $4,000,000 | Big Ten |
| 20 | Jamie Dixon | TCU | $3,808,347 | Big 12 |
| 21 | Andy Enfield | USC | $3,806,389 | Pac-12 |
| 22 | Greg Gard | Wisconsin | $3,765,875 | Big Ten |
| 23 | Juwan Howard | Michigan | $3,761,300 | Big Ten |
| 24 | Matt Painter | Purdue | $3,680,000 | Big Ten |
| 25 | Jeff Capel | Pittsburgh | $3,595,990 | ACC |
