How UConn coach Jim Calhoun compares to other executives

Jim Calhoun's been under fire after a political activist questioned his $1.6 million annual salary. Icon SMI Andy Staples's Mailbag Have questions or feedback? E-mail Andy Staples. Name: Email: Hometown: Question: SEND Follow Andy Staples on Twitter

Not a dime back.

If not for that unfortunate phrase, Connecticut basketball coach Jim Calhoun could have celebrated career victory No. 800 in peace Wednesday. Instead, Calhoun became only the seventh men's coach to join that exclusive club during a week that included a rebuke from his state's governor and nationwide criticism from fans who don't understand how the sausage gets made in big-time college sports. Had Calhoun not counterattacked when freelance journalist/political activist Ken Krayeske blindsided him with a salary question during what would have been an otherwise boring discussion of the Huskies' win over South Florida last Saturday, Calhoun might not have become the poster boy for a debate that was bound to happen with or without him: In a time when state governments are running massive deficits, should public universities pay basketball coaches seven-figure salaries?

Calhoun made the correct argument. Still, he appeared callous, especially considering millions of Americans spend part of each day praying they don't get that fateful call to let them know they've been laid off. When Krayeske, imitating Michael Moore without the sense of humor, pressed Calhoun to explain why he deserved a $1.6 million salary in the face of Connecticut's $1 billion deficit, Calhoun countered that UConn men's hoops made $12 million for the athletic department. Calhoun may actually have underestimated his program's contribution.

According to figures from the Department of Education, UConn basketball brought in $7.3 million in the 2007-08 academic year. The athletic department also brought in $26.5 million in revenue it couldn't assign to a certain sport. Those funds came from logo licensing fees, booster donations, concessions and various other revenue streams. Conservatively estimating, men's basketball deserves credit for at least a third of that money, with football and women's basketball getting credit for the other two-thirds. So add that $8.8 million, and UConn's basketball team probably was responsible for $16.1 million in revenue.

Now, subtract $6.1 million in expenses (which includes Calhoun's salary) and UConn's men's hoopsters turned a $10 million profit in 2007-08. That's a 62-percent profit margin. If you don't think that's good, consider the fact that last quarter Microsoft, a company that just posted a year-to-year revenue gain in spite of the current economic climate, reported gross revenue of $16.6 billion and net income of $4.2 billion (a 25.3 percent margin).

Maybe Calhoun should have chosen his words more carefully, but he does bring plenty of value for his salary. Should he receive a tenth of his program's gross revenue? That's difficult to say. So let's compare Calhoun's salary to the salaries of other authority figures in the public and private sectors and see how they stack up. In some cases, we're comparing apples and filet mignon, but some of the numbers are eye-opening.

Name: Jim Calhoun
Title: Men's basketball coach, University of Connecticut
Salary: $1.6 million
Analysis: Roy Williams probably owes a portion of his $2 million annual salary to Dean Smith, who built North Carolina's basketball program into the juggernaut it is today. At UConn, Calhoun is the Huskies' version of Smith. He turned UConn from a regional player into a national power, generating tremendous publicity and prestige for the school in the process. Now in his 23rd season in Storrs, Calhoun has won two national titles, six Big East Tournament titles and led the Huskies to the NCAA tournament 15 times. On Wednesday, he joined Smith, Adolph Rupp, Bob Knight and company in the 800-win club.

Name: Alan Mulally
Title: CEO, Ford Motor Company
Salary: $1.4 million
Analysis: Mulally's 2009 salary is a bit misleading. He accepted a 30-percent base salary cut for this year and eschewed all bonuses because his company lost $14.6 billion in 2008. Mulally, who made a reported $21.6 million in salary, bonuses and stock in 2007, also makes Calhoun look like a cuddly teddy bear when answering questions about his salary. Asked during a House Finance Committee meeting in November whether he would consider taking a $1 salary if Ford took public bailout money, Mulally said, "I think I'm good where I am." If Mulally coached college basketball, he wouldn't have had to worry about testifying before house members. He'd have been fired after posting that $14.6 billion loss, which is the equivalent of an 0-30 season.

Name: Steve Ballmer
Title: CEO, Microsoft Salary: $1.35 million (in 2008)
Analysis: If $1.35 million was all Ballmer really made for piloting a company that posted a $17.7 billion profit in fiscal 2008, he'd be the biggest bargain since the $3.99 all-you-can-shovel pizza buffet. But Ballmer, who could earn as much as $20 million in fiscal 2009 under a new bonus structure, also owns about 4.5 percent of Microsoft's stock. Given the company's current market capitalization of about $150 billion, Ballmer's share is worth about $6.75 billion.

Name: Platoon leader
Title: Second Lieutenant (two years' experience), U.S. Army
Salary: $31,863.60
Analysis: Our example solider went to college on an ROTC scholarship and, upon graduation, entered the Army as a second lieutenant stationed at Fort Benning in Columbus, Ga.. In his second year, he was deployed to Iraq. While the other executives on this list are responsible for the livelihoods of their subordinates, he is responsible for the lives of his subordinates. While in Iraq, he receives $225 a month in hostile fire and imminent danger pay. Because he has a wife back home living off base property, he receives a $13,512 annual housing allowance.

Name: Vikram Pandit
Title: CEO, Citigroup
Salary: $1
Analysis: Pandit made the politically savvy move of slashing his salary to the price of a junior bacon cheeseburger and declining bonuses after his company accepted $45 billion in government bailout money. Don't weep for Pandit, though. He did make a reported $216 million when he signed on to run the company last year.

Name: Barack Obama
Title: President, United States of America
Salary: $400,000
Analysis: He's the leader of the free world. He's tasked with helping shape an economic policy that will bring the country out of recession. He also is commander-in-chief of a military that is fighting a two-front war. Shouldn't he make more than a basketball coach? Well, Obama does get a free residence, a personal chef, the sweetest of all rides and his own security force. He also gets a $6 million pension plan, and as soon as he leaves office, he'll command six figures every time he opens his mouth on the rubber-chicken circuit. Like Calhoun, Obama must produce results or risk dismissal. If the economy stays in the tank until 2012, it might seem like four seasons without an NCAA tournament appearance. Voters probably would find someone else to coach the nation to the Big Dance.

Name: David Swenson
Title: Chief investment officer, Yale University
Salary: $3,075,703 (in 2006-07)
Analysis: The football and basketball coaches aren't the only ones who make more than the president at some universities. Swenson, Yale's highest paid employee according to an analysis of private schools conducted by The Chronicle of Higher Education, controls the school's endowment and investment funds. The endowment, according to The New York Times, eclipsed $22 billion in 2007.

Name: 10th-grade English Teacher
Title: Teacher with 20 years experience and master's degree, Miami-Dade (Fla.) County public schools
Salary: $57,450
Analysis: Unlike fellow public school educator Calhoun, who burns the midnight oil with the carrot of a fat extension dangling in front of him, our example teacher can expect only a small incremental raise no matter how many parent/teacher conferences he holds or how many hours he spends on the weekend grading his students' analyses of A Midsummer Night's Dream. Of course, if our teacher also happens to be the varsity boys' basketball coach, he can pocket another $2,946. And he shouldn't have to give a dime back.