Texas Head Coach Mack Brown Deserves His Two Million Dollar Raise

Some faculty at the University of Texas is upset the school's head football coach Mack Brown received a $2 million raise last week during a time when the school faces tough budget decisions. Brown went from making about $3 million a year to $5 million annually.

I understand the faculty being upset because they don't make nearly as much as Brown and more classes are dropped every semester. School really is about the student's academics and not supposed to be about athletics but let's be realistic.

The money raised by athletic department revenues pay Brown’s salary so it's not coming from money used for classes and teachers.The raise Brown received comes based off the money the program he's in charge of brings in plus his success, and when a school appears in bowl games and national title games they receive money. Brown has brought the Longhorns to a bowl game in every one of his seasons including a national championship game this season and winning the championship in 2006. Also, Texas' football program brought in a nation wide record $87 million in 2008.

To add Texas' football program channeled $6.6 million into UT's academic programs in recent years, according to UT's president William Powers Jr. in an ESPN article. (By the way how awesome is the last name Powers esp when he's the president where he works?! I know Homer Simpson aka Max Powers agrees).

I think the rest of the profited money could be spent more wisely on academics and faculty but that's not Mack Brown's fault. It's the people in charge of dispersing the moneys fault and part of the reason the entire surplus isn’t forked over to academics is that Texas’ football program also contributes to the other Longhorn athletic programs. Without this surplus Brown brings in the academics might have needed to donate to Texas’ athletics department instead of it being the other way around.

Every one of the almost 100,000 fans that pack Longhorn stadium and enjoy the best football program Texas has ever constructed in it’s over 100 years of existence benefit from the football team. Not to mention all the fans at home. Plus the students and faculty profit literally.

Don't pay Brown, he goes elsewhere and then who knows what happens to Texas' program? Someone else may bring profit but not near what Brown brings because of his overall impact in turning the program around since he took over the helm in 1998. Mack Brown has done everything he needs to deserve his raise.