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Oklahoma Regents Approve New OC Ben Arbuckle's Contract, Salary of $1.5 Million

The Sooners' new offensive coordinator has signed a three-year deal that makes him among the highest-paid coordinators in the Southeastern Conference.
John Hoover|
Oklahoma offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle.
Oklahoma offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle. | OU Athletics

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Oklahoma Sooners

University of Oklahoma’s Board of Regents on Thursday approved the hiring of new offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle.

Arbuckle, who was hired by head coach Brent Venables in December from Washington State, has a three-year contract worth $1.5 million a year to coach quarterbacks adn coordinate the OU offense.

That salary makes him among the nation’s best-paid college football coordinators, and ranks him tied for third among offensive coordinators in the Southeastern Conference behind Ole Miss’ Charlie Weis Jr. ($1.65 million) and Texas A&M’s Collin Klein ($1.6 million) and tied with Missouri’s Kirby Moore and Arkansas’ Bobby Petrino.

The contract runs through Jan. 31, 2028.

Included in Arbuckle’s contract is an incentive bonus of $90,000 if Oklahoma wins the national championship.

Arbuckle's salary places him between former OU offensive coordinators Jeff Lebby ($1.9 million) and Seth Littrell ($1.1 million) and makes him the Sooners' highest-paid assistant coach ahead of offensive line coach Bill Bedenbaugh ($1.05 million last year, scheduled to be $1.2 million in 2025). 

The Sooners are currently trying to hire a defensive coordinator to replace Zac Alley, who left after just one year. Alley made $900,000 last season.

According to data compiled annually by USA Today, 25 coordinators nationwide made at least $1.5 million in 2024.

Arbuckle’s previous salary at Washington State was listed at $693,750, which ranked 174th nationally among offensive and defensive coordinators, with an additional $116,625 available incentive bonuses.

Additionally, regents approved new assistant quarterbacks coach John Kuceyeski’s one-year contract for $200,000, who coached previously under Arbuckle at Washington State. 

Arbuckle and Kuceyeski will work closely with Washington State transfer John Mateer, who led the nation in total touchdowns this season and ranked fifth in total offense.

Regents also approved the hiring of a construction firm for renovations to the west side of Memorial Stadium, including a new press box and other improvements to the lower seating bowl and the upper deck. That project will now add $12 million to OU’s stadium master plan, which is up from $7 million approved during a meeting last fall.

OU regents also approved the school’s ability to disperse NIL funds directly to 1Oklahoma and other NIL collectives as well as to the athletes directly, which aligns with Governor Kevin Stitt’s recent executive order allowing state schools to facilitate NIL payments to athletes.

Also notable from Thursday's regents meetings, no OU football coach received a pay increase after the Sooners went 6-7 in 2024.

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John E. Hoover
JOHN HOOVER

John is an award-winning journalist whose work spans five decades in Oklahoma, with multiple state, regional and national awards as a sportswriter at various newspapers. During his newspaper career, John covered the Dallas Cowboys, the Kansas City Chiefs, the Oklahoma Sooners, the Oklahoma State Cowboys, the Arkansas Razorbacks and much more. In 2016, John changed careers, migrating into radio and launching a YouTube channel, and has built a successful independent media company, DanCam Media. From there, John has written under the banners of Sporting News, Sports Illustrated, Fan Nation and a handful of local and national magazines while hosting daily sports talk radio shows in Oklahoma City, Tulsa and statewide. John has also spoken on Capitol Hill in Oklahoma City in a successful effort to put more certified athletic trainers in Oklahoma public high schools. Among the dozens of awards he has won, John most cherishes his national "Beat Writer of the Year" from the Associated Press Sports Editors, Oklahoma's "Best Sports Column" from the Society of Professional Journalists, and Two "Excellence in Sports Medicine Reporting" Awards from the National Athletic Trainers Association. John holds a bachelor's degree in Mass Communications from East Central University in Ada, OK. Born and raised in North Pole, Alaska, John played football and wrote for the school paper at Ada High School in Ada, OK. He enjoys books, movies and travel, and lives in Broken Arrow, OK, with his wife and two kids.

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