Boise State ranks fourth in Group of Five in pay for football assistant coaches
The Boise State football program spends the fourth-most money on assistant coach salaries among the schools in the Group of Five conferences, according to a database compiled by USA Today.
Boise State spends $2.085 million on assistant coaches (see breakdown at the bottom of this article, based on contracts obtained by the Idaho Statesman earlier this year).
Three American Athletic Conference schools spend more: Cincinnati ($2,326,250), UCF (2,325,000) and Houston ($2,105,000).
The Mountain West’s highest-paid assistant is Will Friend of Colorado State (offensive coordinator/offensive line) at $540,000. Jeff Horton of San Diego State (associate head coach/offensive coordinator/running backs) is second at $317,180. Boise State defensive coordinator and linebackers coach Andy Avalos is third at $315,000.
The database shows a significant gap in pay between the American/Mountain West and Sun Belt/Mid-American/Conference USA in the Group of Five. The top salary pools in those last three conferences are $1,074,000 (MAC, Western Michigan), $1,241,100 (Sun Belt, Arkansas State) and $1,371,050 (C-USA, Florida International). Every reporting member of the Mountain West and American spends more than those three schools except for South Florida and San Jose State.
For an idea how much different the money is in the Power Five, Washington State’s assistants make $2,742,000. Chris Petersen’s staff at Washington makes $4,678,040.
Here’s how Mountain West schools stack up:
Boise State: $2,085,119
Colorado State: $1,844,000
San Diego State: $1,741,708
Fresno State: $1,700,000
Wyoming: $1,587,612
Nevada: $1,524,605
UNLV: $1,474,532
New Mexico: $1,459,875
Utah State: $1,452,320
San Jose State: $1,278,036
Hawaii: Not reported
Air Force: Not reported
Boise State assistants | 2017 | 2016 |
Andy Avalos, defensive coordinator | $315,016 | $305,012 |
Zak Hill, QBs/offensive coordinator | $285,002 | $215,010 |
Eric Kiesau, wide receivers | $185,016 | NA |
Kent Riddle, special teams/tight ends | $275,018 | $275,018 |
Lee Marks, running backs | $145,018 | $135,013 |
Brad Bedell, offensive line | $225,015 | NA |
Steve Caldwell, defensive line | $250,016 | $240,012 |
Ashley Ambrose, cornerbacks | $210,018 | $200,013 |
Gabe Franklin, safeties | $195,000 | $185,016 |
Junior Adams, wide receivers | NA | $200,013 |
Scott Huff, offensive line/co-OC | NA | $285,002 |
Total | $2,085,119 | $2,040,109 |
Notes: Avalos and Hill are signed through the 2018 season. Riddle is in the second year of a two-year contract. Hill was promoted from co-offensive coordinator to offensive coordinator in 2017. Adams (Western Kentucky) and Huff (Washington) left the program after the 2016 season. They were replaced by Kiesau and Bedell.
This story was originally published December 6, 2017 at 4:15 PM with the headline "Boise State ranks fourth in Group of Five in pay for football assistant coaches."