Coaching At UNC Can Come With Hefty Price Tag

With the signing of Matt Doherty, there are now three head basketball coaches under contract at UNC: Doherty, the recently-retired Bill Guthridge and former coach Dean Smith.

Here is how the contracts break down in base salary alone:

In comparison,N.C. State'sHerb Sendek earns a base salary of $128,750. With four assistants at a price tag of $236,300, N.C. State pays $365,050 for its entire staff, less than Carolina is paying for its current and former head coaches.

While the athletic department is part of the university, it has its own separate and distinct budget. The athletic department must pay its own way.

Ticket sales, TV and radio contracts, NCAA appearances and football bowl games are just part of the formula to generate revenue. Some of the revenue will go to Phil Ford, Dave Hanners and Pat Sullivan, the three UNC assistants who lost their jobs Tuesday.

"The department will cover them until they're able to find a position," says UNC athletic director Dick Baddour. "The two best minds in basketball will devote a lot of time to assist them in their efforts and their goals as to where they want to be."

The base is just a small portion of a coach's salary. Media, shoe contracts and public appearances can boost the salary by thousands of dollars.