Men’s basketball head coach Jim Boeheim is the most highly compensated employee at Syracuse University, with a total compensation of $1.9 million in 2010.

Head football coach Doug Marrone and Chancellor Nancy Cantor make the next highest salaries. In addition, the university’s endowment fund saw a 44 percent increase in fiscal year 2011.

The information comes from the university’s Internal Revenue Service Form 990, which is filed by nonprofit organizations annually. Employees’ salaries and compensation are based on the 2010 calendar year. The university’s other financial information is based on fiscal year 2010-11, which runs from July 1, 2010, to June 30, 2011.

Lou Marcoccia, executive vice president and chief financial officer for SU, said salaries are reviewed and approved by the university compensation committee.

Boeheim’s salary was $1,577,523 in 2010 compared with $1,521,370 in 2009. He also received a bonus of $130,000, $77,717 in other reportable compensation, $80,000 in retirement and deferred compensation and $40,336 in nontaxable benefits.

His total compensation was $1,905,756 compared with $1,521,370 in 2009 – a 25 percent increase.

But not all of this money comes from the university. IMG Worldwide, a global sports, fashion and media business, paid $1 million. The Big Orange Basketball Camp run by Boeheim paid $194,463.

The second-highest earner is Marrone, who had a salary of $1.1 million, a $100,000 bonus, $8,490 in other reportable compensation and $42,679 in nontaxable benefits. IMG Worldwide paid $800,000 of Marrone’s income, and he also received $11,986 from conducting a summer camp.

In 2009, which marked Marrone’s first year as SU’s head football coach, Marrone had a total compensation of $1,048,625, meaning his total compensation increased by 20 percent in 2010.

Having such highly paid coaches is necessary to remain competitive in recruiting them, Marcoccia said.

‘It’s just a national phenomenon. That’s what the market is,’ he said. ‘The market for coaches, be they basketball or football coaches in major programs, you’ll find that those salaries and compensation packages are higher than anyone else at the institution.’

Marcoccia said benchmarking is done when determining the compensation for both athletic coaches and officers. He said this means potential salaries are compared to those holding the same positions at other universities. For coaches, he said, the NCAA and the various conferences provide such information for comparison.

Kevin Quinn, vice president for public affairs at SU, said in addition to benchmarking, an outside consultant is hired to ensure the pay of senior officials at SU is competitive among those of other comparable universities to attract the best employees possible.

He said another goal when determining compensation is to fall in the midrange of the salaries offered by peer universities or those within the same athletic conference.

Chancellor Nancy Cantor’s total compensation in 2010 was $1,118,388 – an increase of approximately 25 percent from the previous year. However, Quinn said this number is misleading because Cantor has not actually collected all of this money.

Cantor’s salary was $615,327. She also received $276,976, which was paid into a deferred retirement account as mandated by her 2004 contract.

Cantor’s retirement and deferred compensation, which totals $100,000, was listed on the 990 form but will not be paid until the end of her contract.

Cantor also received $126,085 in nontaxable benefits, much of which represents the value of the chancellor’s home at the university and the SU Lubin House in New York City, which her contract requires her to occupy.

Overall, the 990 form showed fluctuations that Quinn called normal and expected from what he described as a ‘one-year snapshot of an organization’s finances.’ However, Quinn said this year’s 990 indicated improvement in the economy through the endowment.

‘Generally, what the 990 form shows this year is our endowment continuing to grow after the effects of the 2008-2009 economic recession that affected not just Syracuse University’s endowment, but the stock market in general and virtually all college and university endowments,’ Quinn said.

During fiscal year 2011, SU’s endowment fund increased by just more than 44 percent due to contributions of more than $216 million. Approximately $204 million of these contributions were added from the university’s long-term invested operating funds.

Said Quinn: ‘I think it is clearly a sign that the economy has come back a bit and that our endowment continues to recover from that nationwide impact on college and university endowments that was seen in 2008 – especially 2008 – and 2009.’

cffabris@syr.edu

 

Published on May 21, 2012 at 12:00 pm

Contact Casey: cffabris@syr.edu | @caseyfabris