Hawaii’s Highest-Paid Public Employee Coaches Football
Deadspin map reveals “an absurd truth” about the bloated college sports system in the United States.
A Deadspin article features 40 maps and surveys that explain sports in America.
One map that caught my eye “reveals an absurd truth about the bloated college sports system in the U.S.: in most states, the highest-paid public employee is either a football or basketball coach,” says Deadspin.
It adds, “Though most of the money for these huge salaries comes from team revenues, not tax dollars, these big-time college football and basketball programs as a whole are still usually a net financial negative for universities. In fact, it wouldn’t be inaccurate to describe these programs as essentially professional sports franchises that happen to be connected to (and supported by) a public university.”
Deadspin says the University of Hawaii head football coach is our highest-paid public employee. That would be Norm Chow, who is in the third season of a 5-year, $550,000 per year contract.
That’s more than the combined salaries of Hawaii’s governor, chief justice, Senate president and House speaker.
Chow’s team went 3-9 in 2012 and 1-12 in 2013. This year he’s 2-4 with six games remaining.
I wonder how that record compares with Tom Apple, the fired Manoa chancellor who lost his job in part “for alleged unsatisfactory performance in that job.”
Screen shot.
Deadspin
