clock menu more-arrow no yes mobile

Filed under:

Mark Few was third-lowest paid coach in Sweet 16

The Gonzaga coach generates a solid return on investment.

David Banks-USA TODAY Sports

Everyone can debate until they are blue in the face about whether or not Mark Few is a good coach. Like most coaches, he has his shortcomings. Also like most coaches, he excels in other arenas. And weirdly enough, unlike most coaches, his success comes at a rather cheap cost.

USA Today released the salaries of all the coaches in the NCAA Tournament, and after narrowing it down to the coaches in the Sweet 16, Mark Few comes in at a rather nice bargain.

This is a weird thought to think since Few also gets paid more than most mid-major coaches out there, but it also goes to show, in a roundabout way, that Few continues to stay at Gonzaga and lead the program.

Duke Mike Krzyzewski 7.3
Kansas Bill Self 4.9
Indiana Tom Crean 3.15
Oklahoma Lon Kruger 2.85
Villanova Jay Wright 2.48
Maryland Mark Turgeon 2.36
Syracuse Jim Boeheim 2.14
Virginia Tony Bennett 2.1
Oregon Dana Altman 2.0
North Carolina Roy Williams 1.99
Notre Dame Mike Brey 1.7
Miami (FL) Jim Larranaga 1.54
Iowa State Steve Prohm 1.5
Gonzaga Mark Few
1.37
Texas A&M Billy Kennedy 1.22
Wisconsin Greg Gard 650k

As the above numbers show, Mark Few could definitely have made a lot more money had he gone to Oregon, for example. He is the third lowest-paid coach in the Sweet 16. Out of all coaches in the NCAA Tournament, he comes in right in the exact middle at No. 34.

Realistically, Few should basically be the second-lowest paid coach in the Sweet 16. Greg Gard is only there with his piddly, little $650k salary because he took over as interim coach after Bo Ryan’s abrupt retirement. Now that he has gone from interim to actual head coach, Gard can probably expect a rather nice pay raise in the near future.

All of this goes to show that Mark Few, somehow, gives the Zags a pretty solid return on investment when he makes the NCAA Tournament. If the Zags are ever able to piece together a run to the Final Four, there is a good chance they will do it with the lowest paid coach out of all four teams.