Who were Syracuse University’s highest paid employees in 2017-18?

Since Syracuse University is a private school, we don’t see a ton of conversation around salaries at the time of the agreements. However, tax documents do eventually reveal most of this information — and when that happens, Syracuse.com’s Chris Carlson typically has the scoop.

So he did again this time around when information for the 2017-18 academic year became available. As he reveals in a piece on Friday, three of the top five highest paid employees were Syracuse Orange employees.

At the top of that list was men’s basketball coach Jim Boeheim, who collected $2.6 million in total compensation. Football coach Dino Babers was second with $2.2 million and women’s basketball coach Quentin Hillsman was fifth at over $829,000 total pay. The other two members of the top five included chancellor Kent Syverud (third) and law professor emeritus William Banks (fourth).

Carlson points out that Boeheim’s salary lands him 32nd or so in college basketball, and Babers lands around 57th — at least according to USA Today data. Notably, Boeheim provides a bit of a hometown discount and any coach that follows him at SU would have to make considerably more to take the job. When we discussed whether Syracuse was a top tier men’s basketball job recently, part of that consideration was the idea that the Orange would pay up for a replacement. For those concerned, this should probably help: an increase of just $1 million in annual compensation for a men’s hoops coach would put Syracuse 11th overall.

Reinhold Matay-USA TODAY Sports

As for Babers, that figure does not include the extension he signed over the offseason, which undoubtedly increases his pay considerably from that $2.2 million number. A modest (for college football these days) increase of $1 million would elevate Babers to about 41st on the list. Jumping up $1.5 million per year would get him around 30th. Should he enter the $4 million range, he’d be among the top 25 highest paid coaches in the sport.

We’ve discussed this with regard to Babers’s extension before. This is just as much about paying the man for a job (extremely) well done so far as it is a signal to any future coach if/when Dino goes elsewhere. If Syracuse is willing to pay a coach one of the top 25 salaries in the country, it becomes much easier to attract future talent since it’s a clear sign we’re willing to invest in the gig.

Definitely read Carlson’s full piece here, as it goes further into detail on some of the salaries and other university finances. And if anyone has a comprehensive look at women’s basketball coaching salaries around, would love to know where Coach Q stacks up compared to his peers.