North Cook News

Head coaches of Northwestern University's men’s teams earn an average of $824,724 annually – the highest average salary in the state – according to a North Cook News analysis of federal education data.

The analysis found that the university had the equivalent of 8.5 full-time head coaches on staff for its men’s teams. The school has the highest level of head coaches’ pay within North Suburbs.

The U.S. Department of Education’s office of postsecondary education collects athletics data annually from all institutions with intercollegiate athletics programs that receive funding through federal financial aid programs. Data for 2016 – the latest year available – includes more than 2,000 schools nationwide.

A total of 97 universities and colleges in Illinois paid salaries to men’s head coaches in 2016.

What Illinois colleges pay men’s head coaches

School	Division	Total Undergraduates	Men's Team Average Annual Institutional Salary per FTE	Men's Team Number of FTEs Included in Average
Northwestern University	NCAA Division I-FBS	8,249	$824,724	8.5
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign	NCAA Division I-FBS	32,126	$740,045	8
DePaul University	NCAA Division I without football	13,126	$422,068	4.5
Bradley University	NCAA Division I without football	4,278	$272,144	4.5
Illinois State University	NCAA Division I-FCS	17,420	$197,184	5.5
Northern Illinois University	NCAA Division I-FBS	12,323	$195,957	7
Loyola University Chicago	NCAA Division I without football	10,261	$166,621	4
University of Illinois at Chicago	NCAA Division I without football	16,408	$124,683	6
Southern Illinois University-Carbondale	NCAA Division I-FCS	10,509	$114,651	5.89
Western Illinois University	NCAA Division I-FCS	7,482	$105,676	4.69
Eastern Illinois University	NCAA Division I-FCS	5,117	$94,044	6
Augustana College	NCAA Division III with football	2,514	$84,365	6.03
Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville	NCAA Division I without football	9,883	$84,177	5.5
University of Chicago	NCAA Division III with football	5,956	$78,780	6.5
North Central College	NCAA Division III with football	2,534	$73,480	6
North Park University	NCAA Division III with football	1,884	$72,486	4.25
Wheaton College	NCAA Division III with football	2,400	$71,173	6.55
Black Hawk College	NJCAA Division II	1,909	$69,477	0.56
Robert Morris University Illinois	NAIA Division II	2,253	$69,381	7.51
Lewis University	NCAA Division II without football	3,741	$66,467	6.5
Aurora University	NCAA Division III with football	3,302	$65,409	6.78
Prairie State College	NJCAA Division II	1,400	$63,500	0.4
McKendree University	NCAA Division II with football	1,820	$63,241	7.63
Olivet Nazarene University	NAIA Division II	3,019	$62,411	4.34
Concordia University-Chicago	NCAA Division III with football	1,355	$61,570	6.25
Lake Forest College	NCAA Division III with football	1,502	$60,583	4.06
Saint Xavier University	NAIA Division II	2,599	$59,625	5.75
Triton College	Other	3,107	$59,600	0.5
John A Logan College	NJCAA Division I	1,899	$59,095	1.65
Trinity International University-Illinois	NAIA Division I	631	$58,303	3
Dominican University	NCAA Division III without football	2,101	$57,052	2.15
College of DuPage	NJCAA Division III	6,335	$56,263	2.12
Moody Bible Institute	NCCAA Division II	2,275	$56,090	0.78
City Colleges of Chicago-Malcolm X College	NJCAA Division I	2,420	$56,000	0.6
Millikin University	NCAA Division III with football	1,796	$55,853	7
University of St Francis	NAIA Division II	1,320	$55,386	4.82
Olney Central College	NJCAA Division I	479	$55,193	1.5
Illinois Wesleyan University	NCAA Division III with football	1,760	$54,798	6.45
Illinois College	NCAA Division III with football	949	$54,607	5.25
Benedictine University	NCAA Division III with football	2,687	$52,351	8.25
Illinois Central College	NJCAA Division II	3,082	$51,801	1.63
Kankakee Community College	NJCAA Division II	1,064	$51,157	0.69
Morton College	NJCAA Division II	1,253	$50,422	0.55
Governors State University	NAIA Division II	1,923	$50,001	1
Elmhurst College	NCAA Division III with football	2,682	$49,887	8.5
Roosevelt University	NAIA Division II	2,250	$49,518	4.76
University of Illinois at Springfield	NCAA Division II without football	1,896	$49,409	4.5
Illinois Institute of Technology	NCAA Division III without football	2,709	$48,209	4.75
Lewis and Clark Community College	NJCAA Division I	1,731	$47,680	2.25
City Colleges of Chicago-Harry S Truman College	NJCAA Division I	1,599	$46,897	0.58
Wabash Valley College	NJCAA Division I	464	$46,813	1.93
Quincy University	NCAA Division II with football	1,035	$46,465	5.56
Judson University	NAIA Division I	786	$46,240	4.25
City Colleges of Chicago-Richard J Daley College	NJCAA Division I	1,901	$46,200	0.5
MacMurray College	NCAA Division III with football	531	$45,884	3.9
Trinity Christian College	NAIA Division II	903	$45,547	2.7
Monmouth College	NCAA Division III with football	1,124	$44,687	7.36
Lincoln Trail College	NJCAA Division I	386	$44,459	2.12
Knox College	NCAA Division III with football	1,325	$43,551	6
Southwestern Illinois College	NJCAA Division I	3,860	$43,300	0.75
Lincoln College	NJCAA Division III	727	$42,770	4.5
Rockford University	NCAA Division III with football	909	$42,340	4.5
Eureka College	NCAA Division III with football	644	$41,972	2.72
Blackburn College	NCAA Division III without football	569	$41,723	3.5
Shawnee Community College	NJCAA Division I	739	$41,368	0.5
Chicago State University	NCAA Division I without football	1,464	$40,564	4.25
City Colleges of Chicago-Kennedy-King College	NJCAA Division I	1,570	$40,000	0.58
Danville Area Community College	NJCAA Division II	973	$39,000	0.5
Moraine Valley Community College	NJCAA Division II	6,186	$38,653	0.9
Heartland Community College	NJCAA Division II	2,107	$37,748	0.66
Greenville College	NCAA Division III with football	913	$35,747	5.72
Lincoln Land Community College	NJCAA Division II	2,269	$35,145	1.19
South Suburban College	NJCAA Division II	1,328	$34,884	1.29
Lake Land College	NJCAA Division I	2,261	$34,115	0.52
Kaskaskia College	NJCAA Division I	1,233	$33,560	1.82
Oakton Community College	NJCAA Division II	2,596	$33,546	2.21
Rock Valley College	NJCAA Division III	2,999	$33,333	0.63
William Rainey Harper College	NJCAA Division III	4,331	$32,569	1.28
Southeastern Illinois College	NJCAA Division I	457	$32,467	0.3
Highland Community College	NJCAA Division I	823	$32,291	0.55
Parkland College	NJCAA Division II	2,978	$31,113	1.57
Spoon River College	NJCAA Division II	727	$30,303	0.33
John Wood Community College	NJCAA Division II	965	$29,545	0.66
City Colleges of Chicago-Wilbur Wright College	NJCAA Division II	3,149	$28,800	0.5
Sauk Valley Community College	NJCAA Division I	792	$28,133	1.09
Rend Lake College	NJCAA Division I	1,135	$26,744	0.86
City Colleges of Chicago-Olive-Harvey College	NJCAA Division II	781	$26,294	1
Waubonsee Community College	NJCAA Division II	3,101	$25,173	1.5
Kishwaukee College	NJCAA Division II	1,570	$22,988	0.96
Lincoln Christian University	NAIA Division II	357	$21,875	0.96
McHenry County College	NJCAA Division II	1,944	$20,848	1.32
College of Lake County	NJCAA Division II	3,808	$20,719	1.62
Frontier Community College	NJCAA Division I	257	$19,435	0.48
Elgin Community College	NJCAA Division III	3,008	$19,285	1.56
Joliet Junior College	NJCAA Division III	4,988	$17,176	2.54
Illinois Valley Community College	NJCAA Division II	1,256	$17,136	1.47
Carl Sandburg College	NJCAA Division II	929	$17,130	1.88

Source: U.S. Department of Education Office of Postsecondary Education