The Chronicle of Higher Education (subscription required) published an article which quoted NCAA officials as being critical of the escalating salaries of coaches at higher education’s most competitive athletic level, NCAA Division I. The University of Kentucky recently hired former University of Memphis basketball coach John Calipari with an eight-year, $32 million deal. “Eye-popping and mind-boggling,” stated Walter Harrison, president of the University of Hartford and a member of the NCAA’s executive committee. “It sort of takes your breath away in this economic environment.” Myles Brand, the NCAA’s president, said, “You have to ask some very hard questions about whether this is really in tune with academic values.” Costly compensation packages for coaches have “extended beyond what’s expected within the academic community.”
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