Getty Head coach Mike Young of the Wofford Terriers calls out instructions in the first half against the Seton Hall Pirates.
Mike Young has been the coach for the Wofford Terriers for 17 seasons, starting his tenure in 2002. He actually was an assistant as far back as 1989, but he took over for former head coach Richard Johnson when the latter was promoted to athletic director.
It took 6 seasons, but Young slowly but surely got the program above .500. By 2009, he took the Terriers to the Southern Conference title and his first NCAA Tournament berth. Since then, he was accumulated the following honors and accomplishments:
- 4-Time Southern Conference Coach of the Year (2010, 2014, 2015, 2019)
- 5 NCAA Tournament appearances
- 2 regular-season conference championships (2015, 2019)
- The school’s first top-25 ranking this season
On top of that, he guided this year’s team to its first NCAA Tournament victory, as the Terriers pulled away from Seton Hall by double-digits behind 24 points from guard Fletcher Magee (the NCAA record-holder for made 3’s).
It has people thinking: How much money does Young make? How is this guy getting paid for 17 years of blood, sweat and tears?
According to USA Today Sports, he makes just north of $161,000.
According to figures compiled by USA TODAY Sports, Young earned a salary of $161,043 this season. That is the lowest total among the 64 NCAA Tournament coaches included in the compilation and 5.96 percent less than the $171,244 salary USA TODAY Sports reported Young earned last season.
As the Greenville News’ Manie Robinson reported a few years ago, Young earned coaching considerations for openings at Clemson in 2010 and College of Charleston in 2014. The Clemson job would have been fitting, since Young worked for former Tigers’ coach Oliver Purnell at Radford.
Johnson, still the Wofford AD, knows about this low salary number.
“It has my attention,” Johnson said with a laugh to Robinson back in 2015. “We don’t want Mike to leave. We’re going to do what we can to make sure it doesn’t happen, but we’re also realists. If the right opportunity comes along for him and his family, Mike may have to take it.”
Compared to Kentucky’s John Calipari, who is coaching against Young Saturday in the Round of 32, Young is making chump change. Calipari leads the country at over $9 million. Duke’s Mike Krzyzewski is second at over $7 million. Michigan State’s Tom Izzo is third at $4.157 million.
Young may be due for a pay bump, whether it’s at Wofford or somewhere else.