Study provides new tool for evaluating coaching compensation

The results of a recently released study completed by a research team including Chad McEvoy, Falk College professor of sport management, provides athletic directors and other stakeholders of men’s college basketball programs a new tool to determine appropriate compensation for head coaches. The study, which was commissioned by Winthrop Intelligence, expands the traditional scope of executive compensation studies. The researchers investigated performance parameters that predict market compensation levels and utilized executive compensation practices applying multiple regression analysis to develop a compensation valuation formula. The model the researchers created allows decision makers to explore the most relevant factors in determining the value of coaching contracts for men’s basketball on the college level, such as NCAA tournament success, win-loss-overall variables, rating percentage index and program revenue, among other factors. Additionally, this model makes it possible to identify appropriate compensation levels based on a coach’s individual background and performance.

Research partners working with McEvoy included Ryan Brewer, assistant professor of finance, Indiana University-Purdue University, Columbus, Nels Popp, assistant professor of sport management, Illinois State University, and Galen Clavio, assistant professor of kinesiology, Indiana University.

McEvoy’s primary research focus is in revenue generation in intercollegiate and professional sport. He is currently working on numerous research projects related to ticket sales strategies, ticket pricing in sports, and factors affecting sport event attendance, among other topics. Dr. McEvoy is co-author of two textbooks in the sport management discipline, Financial Management in the Sport Industry and Research Methods and Design in Sport Management. His research has been featured in more than 100 media outlets, such as The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Chronicle of Higher Education, PBS Newshour with Jim Lehrer, New York Daily News, and USA Today. In June 2008, he served as a panelist before the prestigious Knight Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics in a discussion on the effectiveness of NCAA penalties for rules violations. With an international portfolio of publications and presentations, he is currently editor of Case Studies in Sport Management, having served previously as co-editor of the Journal of Issues and Intercollegiate Athletics.