How do NCAA Division II teams compare when it comes to Head Coach and Assistant Coach salaries? Comparing to Division I-A isn’t really fair, as that’s where all the money in college athletics is. But against Division I-AA and I-AAA, here’s how they stack up:
The discrepancies are highest at the most high-profile position, Head Coach of a Men’s Team, while they are not as high moving down the line to Assistant Coach of a Women’s Team.
Whereas Men’s Head Coaches hover around $100K for DI-AA and DI-AAA, in DII they are approximately $44K (with football) and $34K (without football), about 44% and 34% of DI-AA and DI-AAA respectively. For Women’s Head Coaches the totals for DI-AA and DI-AAA are $55K and $60K, while DII are $33K and $30K, about 54% of the upper division. For Assistant Coaches, the differences are 54% for schools with football but only 34% for those without on men’s teams, and 49% and 40% respectively for women’s teams.
Those averages take a wide range of salaries into account though. In Division II, at both schools with football and without, only 19 of 573 Head Coache’sstaffs (3.3%) made over $70K per coach in 2010. At the same time, 93 (16.2%) made less than $20K per coach
Many schools have increased the amount they pay their Head Coaches in recent years. Between 2005 and 2010, here are the schools that increased average salaries more than 100%:
Men’s Head Coaches
| Division II (w/ FB) | 2005 | 2010 | % change |
| Dixie State College of Utah | $1,069 | $29,471 | 2656.9% |
| Lake Erie College | $2,980 | $26,833 | 800.4% |
| Albany State U. | $9,587 | $55,493 | 478.8% |
| Winston-Salem State U. | $8,125 | $42,344 | 421.2% |
| Fort Valley State U. | $9,506 | $33,380 | 251.1% |
| Midwestern State U. | $18,063 | $48,596 | 169.0% |
| Texas A & M U.-Commerce | $29,678 | $70,997 | 139.2% |
| Angelo State U. | $40,720 | $89,851 | 120.7% |
| Tuskegee U. | $20,191 | $44,347 | 119.6% |
| U. of New Haven | $33,530 | $72,914 | 117.5% |
| West Liberty U. | $11,289 | $23,289 | 106.3% |
| U. of Mary | $18,690 | $38,544 | 106.2% |
| Division II (w/out FB) | 2005 | 2010 | % change |
| Philadelphia U. | $5,748 | $26,987 | 369.5% |
| Maryville U. of Saint Louis | $6,331 | $25,620 | 304.7% |
| U. of Colorado at Colorado Springs | $10,344 | $31,735 | 206.8% |
| Colorado Christian U. | $8,412 | $25,617 | 204.5% |
| North Georgia College & State U. | $11,580 | $35,030 | 202.5% |
| Gwynedd Mercy College | $6,000 | $14,562 | 142.7% |
| Chaminade U. of Honolulu | $8,556 | $19,225 | 124.7% |
| U. of the District of Columbia | $30,981 | $69,045 | 122.9% |
| Post U. | $9,916 | $21,385 | 115.7% |
| Georgia College & State U. | $14,884 | $31,699 | 113.0% |
| Dallas Baptist U. | $35,537 | $74,242 | 108.9% |
Women’s Head Coaches
| Division II (w/ FB) | 2005 | 2010 | % change |
| Albany State U. | $4,083 | $53,305 | 1205.5% |
| Dixie State College of Utah | $2,021 | $15,928 | 688.1% |
| Lincoln U. of Pennsylvania | $4,000 | $27,705 | 592.6% |
| Fort Valley State U. | $7,131 | $37,687 | 428.5% |
| Virginia Union U. | $4,200 | $16,625 | 295.8% |
| Winston-Salem State U. | $10,416 | $32,155 | 208.7% |
| Glenville State College | $8,087 | $20,873 | 158.1% |
| Lake Erie College | $8,340 | $21,382 | 156.4% |
| Midwestern State U. | $13,940 | $31,761 | 127.8% |
| Seton Hill U. | $17,608 | $38,803 | 120.4% |
| Cheyney U. of Pennsylvania | $17,140 | $36,003 | 110.1% |
| Northwest Missouri State U. | $19,325 | $39,505 | 104.4% |
| Division II (w/out FB) | 2005 | 2010 | % change |
| Maryville U. of Saint Louis | $5,486 | $29,256 | 433.3% |
| Philadelphia U. | $6,296 | $23,671 | 276.0% |
| Colorado Christian U. | $8,383 | $28,985 | 245.8% |
| Dallas Baptist U. | $22,284 | $59,571 | 167.3% |
| North Georgia College & State U. | $14,658 | $38,565 | 163.1% |
| U. of Colorado at Colorado Springs | $14,750 | $35,965 | 143.8% |
| Post U. | $10,566 | $24,687 | 133.6% |
| U. of the District of Columbia | $15,382 | $34,256 | 122.7% |
| Bloomfield College | $12,171 | $24,506 | 101.3% |
looking at Assistant Coaches, the range of salaries isn’t as wide. In Division II, at both schools with football and without, only one coaching staff made over $60K in 2010. At the same time, 406 of 561 (72.4%) made less than $20K.
And here are the schools that increased average Asst. coach salaries more than 200% between 2005 and 2010:
Men’s Assistant Coaches
| Lincoln U. of Pennsylvania | $2,833 | $26,107 | 821.5% |
| Dixie State College of Utah | $828 | $7,046 | 751.0% |
| Lake Erie College | $1,500 | $11,699 | 679.9% |
| Albany State U. | $6,027 | $42,989 | 613.3% |
| Midwestern State U. | $7,441 | $32,141 | 331.9% |
| Winston-Salem State U. | $10,625 | $44,267 | 316.6% |
| Lock Haven U. | $7,979 | $29,882 | 274.5% |
| Fort Hays State U. | $12,140 | $43,861 | 261.3% |
| Colorado School of Mines | $5,877 | $21,049 | 258.2% |
| Fort Valley State U. | $5,477 | $18,907 | 245.2% |
| Seton Hill U. | $3,516 | $12,006 | 241.5% |
| West Liberty U. | $3,879 | $12,794 | 229.8% |
| Division II (w/out FB) | 2005 | 2010 | % change |
| Florida Institute of Technology | $5,000 | $43,555 | 771.1% |
| Davis & Elkins College | $357 | $3,000 | 740.3% |
| Salem International U. | $3,150 | $24,000 | 661.9% |
| Coker College | $1,256 | $8,563 | 581.8% |
| North Georgia College & State U. | $2,500 | $12,899 | 416.0% |
| Colorado Christian U. | $3,448 | $17,250 | 400.3% |
| Claflin U. | $2,833 | $12,688 | 347.9% |
| San Francisco State U. | $5,532 | $24,739 | 347.2% |
| U. of Illinois at Springfield | $1,983 | $8,007 | 303.8% |
| Rollins College | $4,457 | $17,909 | 301.8% |
| Texas A & M International U. | $7,723 | $26,055 | 237.4% |
| Columbus State U. | $9,201 | $30,348 | 229.8% |
| Saint Leo U. | $4,671 | $14,839 | 217.7% |
| Lincoln Memorial U. | $5,474 | $16,684 | 204.8% |
Women’s Assistant Coaches
| Women’s Teams Asst. Coaches | |||
| Division II (w/ FB) | 2005 | 2010 | % change |
| Albany State U. | $1,666 | $25,822 | 1449.9% |
| West Liberty U. | $452 | $3,911 | 765.3% |
| Dixie State College of Utah | $446 | $3,303 | 640.6% |
| Miles College | $1,750 | $9,000 | 414.3% |
| Fort Hays State U. | $5,244 | $26,056 | 396.9% |
| Lake Erie College | $1,500 | $6,849 | 356.6% |
| Johnson C Smith U. | $2,169 | $9,464 | 336.3% |
| New Mexico Highlands U. | $2,336 | $9,666 | 313.8% |
| Chowan U. | $6,525 | $25,248 | 286.9% |
| Midwestern State U. | $7,200 | $24,921 | 246.1% |
| West Virginia State U. | $3,800 | $11,710 | 208.2% |
| Division II (w/out FB) | 2005 | 2010 | % change |
| U. of the District of Columbia | $6,750 | $46,775 | 593.0% |
| Eckerd College | $4,645 | $31,297 | 573.8% |
| Texas A & M International U. | $4,116 | $26,026 | 532.3% |
| Colorado Christian U. | $4,828 | $27,500 | 469.6% |
| Franklin Pierce U. | $2,527 | $10,751 | 325.4% |
| San Francisco State U. | $5,550 | $23,560 | 324.5% |
| Christian Brothers U. | $1,250 | $4,500 | 260.0% |
| Lincoln Memorial U. | $6,423 | $19,478 | 203.3% |
