University of Wisconsin basketball icon Bo Ryan found victory off the court this week, as officials announced his salary will be raised to more than $2 million.
Chancellor David Ward and UW Foundation President Michael Knetter recently signed off on an agreement to raise UW basketball head coach Ryan’s compensation package. Sean Frazier, UW deputy athletics director, confirmed this agreement will push Ryan’s annual compensation to more than $2 million.
“He exemplifies success in the classroom and on the field of competition,” Frazier said. “This (raise) reinforces the longevity of him staying here. Based on production, he is worth every single penny.”
UW Vice Chancellor for Administration Darrell Bazzell said Ryan’s raise puts him up to par with coaches from the other Big Ten schools.
“He is now at about the medium of the Big Ten,” Bazzell said.
Other schools in the Big Ten like Michigan State still have higher salaries for their basketball coaches, Bazzell said, but the raise creates an incentive for Ryan to continue at UW.
Frazier agreed the raise shows Ryan how much he is valued at UW.
“Based on his production, his worth is now exactly right,” Frazier said.
Bazzell noted keeping Ryan happy and at the university is not just good for the Athletic Department, but also for the academic side of recruiting.
According to uwbadgers.com, before he began his coaching career, Ryan was a high school teacher, and Frazier said he continues to focus on academics as a top goal for his athletes. Frazier continued to say that Ryan pushes his athletes to become not just well-rounded on the court but also in the classroom.
“We not only bring in student athletes; we bring in students for the classroom as well,” Bazzell said. “Ryan is reflective of our overall performance, both on the court and off.”
Frazier said only a portion of Ryan’s salary comes from the Athletic Department. Ryan’s base salary from the department of $436,364 makes up less than a quarter of the total $2.1 million.
The remaining $1,675,000 comes in the form of private gift funding funneled through the UW Foundation, according to UW Foundation Vice President of Legal Affairs, Russ Howes.
Howes clarified the money from UW Foundation will not be coming from donors in which students solicit for. Rather, most of the money will come from media rights, which include television and radio pay that have been set aside exactly for this reason.
Ryan has been the head coach of basketball at UW for 11 years, delivering 242 victories for the Badgers. Throughout his years, he has unquestionably made a name for himself. He has a .714 (120-8) winning percentage in conference games, which is the best of any Big Ten coach in history, surpassing Thad Matta of Ohio State with .708 and Bob Knight of Indiana with .700.
His current record at UW-Madison is 242-91 (percentage of .727). Additionally, Ryan’s Badger basketball team owns five Big Ten titles, five players with AP-All American recognition, 10 NCAA tournaments, three Sweet 16s and one Elite Eight appearance, according to uwbadgers.com.
