Long Beach State head coaches among highest paid in Big West

Long Beach State head coaches are paid an average of about $12,000 more per year than their Big West Conference colleagues.

According to documents obtained by the Daily 49er, head coaches at LBSU earned an average base salary of $109,507 in the most recent year of their contracts. By comparison, head coaches at Big West schools in California made an average of $97,178.

Only base annual salaries for head coaches of NCAA sports in which LBSU participates were included in the data. For this reason, the salaries of football coaches, men’s soccer and men’s tennis coaches were not included.

The base salaries of coaches at Hawaii, the only Big West school located outside of California, were also not included. Only salary ranges, not specific amounts, were provided for Hawaii coaches.

LBSU Athletics Director Vic Cegles said that hiring good coaches is a top priority.

“We’re committed to hiring the best coaches and keeping the best coaches at Long Beach State,” he said. “Not only are they good in terms of coaching, but I believe they’re really good as far as the [players] they recruit and how they motivate them to achieve academically in addition to athletically.”

LBSU coaches’ annual base salaries range from $52,000 to more than $300,000, but those at the top have earned their pay. The 49ers have won the last three Big West Commissioner’s Cups, an award given by the conference to the school that performs best across all sports.

“The most important part of my job is hiring good coaches,” Cegles said. “I don’t care where I’m at, I have to hire good coaches. Two, you have to have scholarships, and three, you have to have good facilities. Those are the foundations of successful athletics programs.”

Coach salaries in the Big West cover a wide range, and that range is only larger in more prominent conferences, like the Pac-12 or Big 10. When looking at the contracts for head coaches of specific sports, however, the range shrinks considerably.

This restricted range is no coincidence, as Cegles said market value is a key determinant when negotiating salaries.

“[The salary] reflects on two things: the marketplace, and the success of the program,” he said. “The other thing you have to look at is how long they’ve been here. People get raises, and you want to keep good people.”

The best example of a long-tenured coach at LBSU is women’s volleyball head coach Brian Gimmillaro. Gimmillaro, who is in his 29th year at The Beach, recently signed a contract extension that will pay him $135,012 per year, making him the highest-paid Big West women’s volleyball coach by about $17,000.

Still, salaries like those of Gimmillaro and men’s basketball head coach Dan Monson pale in comparison to those of Pac-12 schools. Monson is among the highest-paid in the Big West with a base salary of $325,297, but UCLA men’s basketball head coach Steve Alford makes $2.8 million per year, according to the Los Angeles Times.

“Trust me, we aren’t paying our coaches enough,” Cegles said. “You know what they’re paying the coaches at Pac-12 schools? A lot.”

UCLA’s baseball head coach, John Savage, is also well-paid. Savage turned down a $1 million per year offer from Southern California to stay at UCLA, with whom he recently signed an extension.

According to a document from the University of California Regents, Savage now earns $600,000 per year. That’s more than four times the amount any Big West coach makes, even those that run the highly-ranked programs at Cal State Fullerton and Cal Poly.

“Everybody wants to compete against the best,” Cegles said. “Everybody wants to beat USC and UCLA. Well, there’s a cost for all good things.”

MORE: Dan Monson, men’s basketball coaches highest paid in Big West by large margin