How Ryan Day, Chris Holtmann's Five Percent Pay Cuts Compare to Other Big Ten Coaches
Ohio State Athletic Director Gene Smith announced on Wednesday that football head coach Ryan Day and men's basketball head coach Chris Holtmann would be taking voluntary five percent pay cuts to help the university handle the projected $107 million budget deficit created by the CoVID-19 pandemic.
Smith explained Wednesday that the salary reductions must be deemed as "voluntary" for contracted employees because their contracts do not contain language in which the university may reduce compensation.
But how much does this pay cut entail for each coach and how does it compare to other high-profile coaches across the Big Ten?
For second year head football coach Ryan Day, the pay cut will lead to $236,777.77 in lost wages over the next nine months. Day, who signed a contract extension earlier this year, will earn nearly as much as he did last season with the newly implemented pay cut. His new contract went into effect July 1, 2020 and the five percent paycut was likely prorated from the time of the university's announcement.
Meanwhile, head basketball coach Chris Holtmann stands to lose $112,531.87 from October through June based on the current terms of his contract.
Ohio State has stated that bonuses for head coaches will still be attainable, and the pay cut would only include their guaranteed salary.
On September 23, athletic director Gene Smith addressed the financial issues the university is dealing with due to Covid-19 and discussed the fact that every member of Buckeye Nation has been affected.
“Yesterday was a challenging day for everyone,” Smith said. "Everyone was impacted in some form or fashion, whether it be a furlough, salary reduction or opportunity."
But just how affected are top coaches at Ohio State compared to the rest of the Big Ten? Based on the numbers, the big-name Buckeyes are suffering less than their counterparts.
According to Cleveland.com, the five percent pay cut for Ohio State’s top leaders places them at the bottom of the conference spectrum.
Indiana, Illinois, Michigan and Nebraska were among the schools that doubled the pay cuts (10%) for football and basketball coaches and Iowa head coaches Kirk Ferentz and Fran McCaffery took 15 percent pay cuts to help the Hawkeyes through the pandemic. Iowa also cut four Olympic sports.
In addition, Purdue head coaches Jeff Brohm and Matt Painter agreed to take 20 percent salary cuts and forego incentive bonuses.
While Ohio State has made necessary and difficult moves to help aid in the financial recovery, it should be noted that compared to conference rivals, the measures aren’t quite as drastic. When asked about it during the press conference, Gene Smith emphatically shot down the notion that his coach's reductions weren't enough.
“At the end of the day, I wanted everybody to be treated the same,” Smith said, when asked if the highest paid employees in the department should take more significant reductions than those who make more typical salaries.
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