Winning and a huge influx of TV money is allowing Wisconsin to pony up for some big raises.
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports that the school’s board has approved bumps in the contracts of several figures in the athletic department, perhaps most notably the man who leads it in Barry Alvarez. The Badgers’ former coach-turned-administrator is now signed through early 2021 and had his base salary raised to $1.175 million with annual bonuses of $375,000. That grand total of $1.55 million a year makes him the highest paid athletic director at a public Power Five school in the country according to USA Today.
The biggest raise is reserved for Wisconsin defensive coordinator Jim Leonhard however. After doing a terrific job with the Badgers since taking over, the former star player at the school will go from $600,000 a year to a total of $966,666. Offensive coordinator Joe Rudolph is now at $775,000 a year after a six-figure bump as well.
Last but not least, head coach Paul Chryst had his contract renewed once again as it typically is every year by the board to take him through the 2022 season with a salary of $3.75 million.
After a 13-1 campaign in 2017 and back-to-back division titles for the Badgers, the salary increases across the board are certainly a nice reward for those in charge of the program and certainly affordable for the school given all the Big Ten cash rolling into the coffers.