Through grueling practices and long seasons, the only person more dedicated to their team than the players are the coaches.
Although coaches might put in the same amount of work, the difference in salaries between men and women are reflected even when leading a team.
Coaches in women’s sports make an average salary of $70,604, while coaching men’s sports pays $76,135. The salaries remained consistent despite having a losing record.
The $6,000 gap is experienced across sports, and at the Division I level can exceed $1 million. The pay gap is clear statement that in the world of sports, women are still the trespassers, whether it’s on the court or the sideline.
Even at Chico State, the coaches receive a difference in pay despite the success of their sports. The head coach of the softball team, Angel Shamblin, receives $65,052 and coaches a team that is ranked third at the Division II level.
The men’s baseball coach Dave Taylor has a salary of $87,144. Despite $12,000 difference in salaries, the baseball team is not ranked according to the NCAA.
The salary gap is the forgotten player on the field, and it looms across every sport. Even in soccer, differences in wages are a clear issue.
Head coach of men’s soccer, Felipe Restrepo, has coached for 9 years and has a successful record of 87-43-25. Restrepo was able to turn his team around this season to post a successful winning record and compete in the California Collegiate Athletic Association Tournament.
The women’s soccer team has also enjoyed success under its head coach Kim Sutton. Sutton has a 280-144-61 record and has won 57 percent of the games she has coached in 16 seasons.
While Sutton has coached at Chico State for a longer time, Restrepo has a 56 percent win likelihood based on his record. For their commitment to Chico State, Sutton is paid a total of $4,056 more than Restrepo.
The drastic differences in wages that exist across sports need to be changed, as they fail to represent the effort that winning coaches put into their teams. Whether its divisional or gender based, differences in pay between coaches in the same sport provide an image of inequality.
Lexi Heodt can be reached at [email protected] or @theorion_sports on Twitter.
