Men’s head coach salaries at Northwestern University outpace women’s team coaches by 308 percent, according to a North Cook News analysis of recent U.S. Department of Education data.
Male head coaches at the university earn an average of $824,724, while female head coaches’ annual pay is $202,206.
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 96 universities and colleges in Illinois paid salaries to both men’s and women’s head coaches in 2016.
Gender pay gap for head coaches at Illinois schools
| Rank | School | Division | Total Undergraduates | Men's Team Average Annual Institutional Salary per FTE | Women's Team Average Annual Institutional Salary per FTE | How Much More Do Men's Coaches Earn, on Average? |
| 1 | Northwestern University | NCAA Division I-FBS | 8,249 | $824,724 | $202,206 | 307.86% |
| 2 | University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign | NCAA Division I-FBS | 32,126 | $740,045 | $181,452 | 307.85% |
| 3 | Bradley University | NCAA Division I without football | 4,278 | $272,144 | $90,123 | 201.97% |
| 4 | Northern Illinois University | NCAA Division I-FBS | 12,323 | $195,957 | $84,831 | 131.00% |
| 5 | Illinois State University | NCAA Division I-FCS | 17,420 | $197,184 | $96,034 | 105.33% |
| 6 | Loyola University Chicago | NCAA Division I without football | 10,261 | $166,621 | $83,713 | 99.04% |
| 7 | DePaul University | NCAA Division I without football | 13,126 | $422,068 | $224,721 | 87.82% |
| 8 | Eureka College | NCAA Division III with football | 644 | $41,972 | $24,489 | 71.39% |
| 9 | Southwestern Illinois College | NJCAA Division I | 3,860 | $43,300 | $25,444 | 70.18% |
| 10 | North Central College | NCAA Division III with football | 2,534 | $73,480 | $47,461 | 54.82% |
| 11 | Western Illinois University | NCAA Division I-FCS | 7,482 | $105,676 | $70,664 | 49.55% |
| 12 | Olney Central College | NJCAA Division I | 479 | $55,193 | $37,105 | 48.75% |
| 13 | City Colleges of Chicago-Malcolm X College | NJCAA Division I | 2,420 | $56,000 | $38,196 | 46.61% |
| 14 | University of Illinois at Chicago | NCAA Division I without football | 16,408 | $124,683 | $89,102 | 39.93% |
| 15 | Southern Illinois University-Carbondale | NCAA Division I-FCS | 10,509 | $114,651 | $82,114 | 39.62% |
| 16 | Augustana College | NCAA Division III with football | 2,514 | $84,365 | $60,436 | 39.59% |
| 17 | North Park University | NCAA Division III with football | 1,884 | $72,486 | $52,770 | 37.36% |
| 18 | Oakton Community College | NJCAA Division II | 2,596 | $33,546 | $25,324 | 32.47% |
| 19 | Shawnee Community College | NJCAA Division I | 739 | $41,368 | $31,378 | 31.84% |
| 20 | City Colleges of Chicago-Wilbur Wright College | NJCAA Division II | 3,149 | $28,800 | $22,000 | 30.91% |
| 21 | Concordia University-Chicago | NCAA Division III with football | 1,355 | $61,570 | $47,851 | 28.67% |
| 22 | Elgin Community College | NJCAA Division III | 3,008 | $19,285 | $15,162 | 27.19% |
| 23 | McKendree University | NCAA Division II with football | 1,820 | $63,241 | $49,796 | 27.00% |
| 24 | Trinity International University-Illinois | NAIA Division I | 631 | $58,303 | $46,268 | 26.01% |
| 25 | Sauk Valley Community College | NJCAA Division I | 792 | $28,133 | $22,590 | 24.54% |
| 26 | Quincy University | NCAA Division II with football | 1,035 | $46,465 | $37,337 | 24.45% |
| 27 | MacMurray College | NCAA Division III with football | 531 | $45,884 | $37,264 | 23.13% |
| 28 | Judson University | NAIA Division I | 786 | $46,240 | $37,569 | 23.08% |
| 29 | Lincoln Trail College | NJCAA Division I | 386 | $44,459 | $36,525 | 21.72% |
| 30 | Dominican University | NCAA Division III without football | 2,101 | $57,052 | $47,335 | 20.53% |
| 31 | Illinois College | NCAA Division III with football | 949 | $54,607 | $45,375 | 20.35% |
| 32 | Blackburn College | NCAA Division III without football | 569 | $41,723 | $34,716 | 20.18% |
| 33 | University of St Francis | NAIA Division II | 1,320 | $55,386 | $46,215 | 19.84% |
| 34 | Lewis University | NCAA Division II without football | 3,741 | $66,467 | $55,814 | 19.09% |
| 35 | Kaskaskia College | NJCAA Division I | 1,233 | $33,560 | $28,222 | 18.91% |
| 36 | Rockford University | NCAA Division III with football | 909 | $42,340 | $35,622 | 18.86% |
| 37 | Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville | NCAA Division I without football | 9,883 | $84,177 | $71,992 | 16.93% |
| 38 | Wabash Valley College | NJCAA Division I | 464 | $46,813 | $40,115 | 16.70% |
| 39 | Knox College | NCAA Division III with football | 1,325 | $43,551 | $37,715 | 15.47% |
| 40 | John A Logan College | NJCAA Division I | 1,899 | $59,095 | $51,443 | 14.87% |
| 41 | Wheaton College | NCAA Division III with football | 2,400 | $71,173 | $62,275 | 14.29% |
| 42 | Benedictine University | NCAA Division III with football | 2,687 | $52,351 | $46,155 | 13.42% |
| 43 | Olivet Nazarene University | NAIA Division II | 3,019 | $62,411 | $55,060 | 13.35% |
| 44 | Millikin University | NCAA Division III with football | 1,796 | $55,853 | $49,448 | 12.95% |
| 45 | Heartland Community College | NJCAA Division II | 2,107 | $37,748 | $33,448 | 12.86% |
| 46 | Lewis and Clark Community College | NJCAA Division I | 1,731 | $47,680 | $42,568 | 12.01% |
| 47 | John Wood Community College | NJCAA Division II | 965 | $29,545 | $26,515 | 11.43% |
| 48 | Lincoln College | NJCAA Division III | 727 | $42,770 | $38,465 | 11.19% |
| 49 | Aurora University | NCAA Division III with football | 3,302 | $65,409 | $59,039 | 10.79% |
| 50 | William Rainey Harper College | NJCAA Division III | 4,331 | $32,569 | $29,731 | 9.55% |
| 51 | University of Illinois at Springfield | NCAA Division II without football | 1,896 | $49,409 | $45,146 | 9.44% |
| 52 | Eastern Illinois University | NCAA Division I-FCS | 5,117 | $94,044 | $85,939 | 9.43% |
| 53 | Saint Xavier University | NAIA Division II | 2,599 | $59,625 | $54,505 | 9.39% |
| 54 | College of DuPage | NJCAA Division III | 6,335 | $56,263 | $52,137 | 7.91% |
| 55 | Illinois Wesleyan University | NCAA Division III with football | 1,760 | $54,798 | $51,435 | 6.54% |
| 56 | City Colleges of Chicago-Olive-Harvey College | NJCAA Division II | 781 | $26,294 | $25,000 | 5.18% |
| 57 | Rend Lake College | NJCAA Division I | 1,135 | $26,744 | $25,515 | 4.82% |
| 58 | University of Chicago | NCAA Division III with football | 5,956 | $78,780 | $75,849 | 3.86% |
| 59 | Elmhurst College | NCAA Division III with football | 2,682 | $49,887 | $48,375 | 3.13% |
| 60 | Triton College | Other | 3,107 | $59,600 | $58,100 | 2.58% |
| 61 | Moody Bible Institute | NCCAA Division II | 2,275 | $56,090 | $54,998 | 1.99% |
| 62 | Kishwaukee College | NJCAA Division II | 1,570 | $22,988 | $22,786 | 0.89% |
| 63 | Highland Community College | NJCAA Division I | 823 | $32,291 | $32,178 | 0.35% |
| 64 | Parkland College | NJCAA Division II | 2,978 | $31,113 | $31,012 | 0.33% |
| 65 | College of Lake County | NJCAA Division II | 3,808 | $20,719 | $20,654 | 0.31% |
| 66 | Governors State University | NAIA Division II | 1,923 | $50,001 | $50,000 | 0.00% |
| 67 | Black Hawk College | NJCAA Division II | 1,909 | $69,477 | $69,477 | 0.00% |
| 68 | Danville Area Community College | NJCAA Division II | 973 | $39,000 | $39,000 | 0.00% |
| 69 | Lincoln Christian University | NAIA Division II | 357 | $21,875 | $21,875 | 0.00% |
| 70 | Lincoln Land Community College | NJCAA Division II | 2,269 | $35,145 | $35,145 | 0.00% |
| 71 | Rock Valley College | NJCAA Division III | 2,999 | $33,333 | $33,333 | 0.00% |
| 72 | South Suburban College | NJCAA Division II | 1,328 | $34,884 | $34,884 | 0.00% |
| 73 | Southeastern Illinois College | NJCAA Division I | 457 | $32,467 | $32,467 | 0.00% |
| 74 | Spoon River College | NJCAA Division II | 727 | $30,303 | $30,303 | 0.00% |
| 75 | Joliet Junior College | NJCAA Division III | 4,988 | $17,176 | $17,189 | -0.08% |
| 76 | Robert Morris University Illinois | NAIA Division II | 2,253 | $69,381 | $69,472 | -0.13% |
| 77 | Morton College | NJCAA Division II | 1,253 | $50,422 | $50,507 | -0.17% |
| 78 | Illinois Institute of Technology | NCAA Division III without football | 2,709 | $48,209 | $48,301 | -0.19% |
| 79 | Illinois Valley Community College | NJCAA Division II | 1,256 | $17,136 | $17,181 | -0.26% |
| 80 | Lake Forest College | NCAA Division III with football | 1,502 | $60,583 | $60,775 | -0.32% |
| 81 | Carl Sandburg College | NJCAA Division II | 929 | $17,130 | $17,225 | -0.55% |
| 82 | Prairie State College | NJCAA Division II | 1,400 | $63,500 | $64,074 | -0.90% |
| 83 | Lake Land College | NJCAA Division I | 2,261 | $34,115 | $35,123 | -2.87% |
| 84 | City Colleges of Chicago-Harry S Truman College | NJCAA Division I | 1,599 | $46,897 | $48,696 | -3.69% |
| 85 | McHenry County College | NJCAA Division II | 1,944 | $20,848 | $21,673 | -3.81% |
| 86 | Roosevelt University | NAIA Division II | 2,250 | $49,518 | $51,861 | -4.52% |
| 87 | Moraine Valley Community College | NJCAA Division II | 6,186 | $38,653 | $40,673 | -4.97% |
| 88 | Greenville College | NCAA Division III with football | 913 | $35,747 | $39,841 | -10.28% |
| 89 | Illinois Central College | NJCAA Division II | 3,082 | $51,801 | $58,085 | -10.82% |
| 90 | Chicago State University | NCAA Division I without football | 1,464 | $40,564 | $45,724 | -11.29% |
| 91 | Trinity Christian College | NAIA Division II | 903 | $45,547 | $52,845 | -13.81% |
| 92 | Monmouth College | NCAA Division III with football | 1,124 | $44,687 | $52,943 | -15.59% |
| 93 | Waubonsee Community College | NJCAA Division II | 3,101 | $25,173 | $30,241 | -16.76% |
| 94 | City Colleges of Chicago-Kennedy-King College | NJCAA Division I | 1,570 | $40,000 | $49,483 | -19.16% |
| 95 | Kankakee Community College | NJCAA Division II | 1,064 | $51,157 | $64,466 | -20.64% |
| 96 | Frontier Community College | NJCAA Division I | 257 | $19,435 | $36,326 | -46.50% |
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