San Luis Obispo is a small college town with a modest university.
However, as is true in so many colleges and universities around the country, some professors don’t realize how good they have it. Recently, a couple of local professors complained about the Cal Poly football coach’s raise. They felt that they had to settle for crumbs from the table and were justifiably (in their minds) unhappy.
The head coach’s raise certainly reflected the very recent success Cal Poly was having in football. Making the playoffs was a striking improvement over decades of mediocrity. The coach’s salary — as head coach’s salaries go — won’t roll anyone’s eyes; Cal Poly is division I double A after all. To put it in perspective, if Oklahoma was nice, they’d roll over Cal Poly 77-0 in a bad year.
So why all the fuss?
Well, the professors who wrote to the Tribune obviously felt that they are ‘underpaid’. However, let’s take a closer look at what they really get. First, many of them have the biggest perk of all — a job for life. In contrast, coaches go to work every day with a guillotine blade hanging over their necks.
Professors here teach a whopping 12 hours a week for 30 weeks a year. As for health benefits, a state job is hard to beat. This works out to something like $300 an hour.
Football Coaches — especially head football coaches — seldom have a life. They work constantly throughout the year and seemingly 24 hours a day. The hourly rate of a Cal Poly football coach would be something around $30 an hour. In addition, coaches can be fired for any reason.
Oddly enough, I suspect both underpaid professors report more to the IRS than the much maligned football coach.
Roger Freberg
