How much money do Cal Poly coaches make? Here's a look at their contracts
The Cal Poly athletics department will likely never employ a multimillion-dollar head coach like at Alabama, Ohio State and USC. But there are still plenty of coaches at the NCAA Division I school making healthy yearly salaries.
Cal Poly athletics provided The Tribune with the contracts for all 16 of its head coaches, whose average tenure is just shy of 11 years. In all, the contracts add up to just shy of $1.8 million per year.
The trends are what most would expect.
High-profile sports like football, baseball and basketball feature some of the highest paid coaches on campus, while coaches leading programs like women's golf and men's tennis make significantly less. Thirteen of the 16 head coaches make more than the median household income for San Luis Obispo County, according to U.S. Census data.
But more money didn't necessarily translate to success this past school year. The lowest paid coach at Cal Poly, sand volleyball's Todd Rodgers, led his team to its best season in program history. The highest paid on campus, men's basketball head coach Joe Callero, led his team to its fifth straight losing season.
All of the coaches are expected to return next school year, though the current contracts for women's tennis coach Katharina Winterhalter, swim and dive coach Thomas Milich, women's soccer coach Alex Crozier and baseball coach Larry Lee expire later this year.
Cal Poly athletics director Don Oberhelman, who helped negotiate each contract, expressed confidence in his current coaching staff in a recent interview with The Tribune.
"Right now we have great head coaches," Oberhelman said.
Here's a look at how much money (not including supplemental pay and bonuses) each coach made during the 2017-18 school year, how their teams fared and the details of their contracts, starting with the lowest paid on campus.
Todd Rogers, beach volleyball
Base Salary: $52,716
Seasons at Cal Poly: 3
Current Contract: 2016-2019
An Olympic gold medalist in 2008 who spent 20 years as a professional beach volleyball player, Rogers was an assistant with the UC Santa Barbara men’s indoor volleyball team before joining Cal Poly in 2016. Cal Poly had its best season in the program’s four-year history in 2018 and reached a No. 4 national ranking.
Sofie Aagaard, women’s golf
Base Salary: $55,008
Seasons at Cal Poly: 4
Current Contract: 2017-2021
Aagaard was named head coach in June of 2015. Previously she served as an assistant coach to former head coach Scott Cartwright for three seasons. She led Cal Poly to its first Big West Championship in the 17-year history of the program in 2017. Two players were named Second-Team All-Big West in 2018.
Katharina Winterhalter, women’s tennis
Base Salary: $58,008
Seasons at Cal Poly: 3
Current Contract: 2015-2018
Winterhalter was an assistant at Fresno City College before joining Cal Poly. During her tenure, she’s compiled a 15-45 record (5-19 Big West).
Scott Cartwright, men’s golf
Base Salary: $66,024
Seasons at Cal Poly: 17
Current Contract: 2017-2021
Cartwright is a former golf pro at San Luis Obispo Country Club who has coached the men's team since 2001 and coached the women’s team from 2003-15. Cal Poly finished in sixth place at the 2018 Big West Conference Championship.
Nick Carless, men’s tennis
Base Salary: $68,280
Seasons at Cal Poly: 7
Current Contract: 2016-2019
Carless has led Cal Poly to two Big West Conference Tournament Championships and is a two-time Wilson ITA Southwest Region Coach of the Year (2014, 2017). Cal Poly was 18-7 (4-1 Big West) in 2018 and finished second in the Big West Conference Tournament Championship.
Jonathan Sioredas, wrestling
Base Salary: $81,000
Seasons at Cal Poly: 2
Current Contract: 2016-2019
In his first year at the helm, the Mustangs won more dual meets than in the previous five years. During his 11 years of coaching — three as a head coach and eight as an assistant — Sioredas has coached five top-25 teams, one NCAA Division I national finalist and four NCAA All-Americans. Cal Poly wrestlers went 155-201 overall during the 2017-18 season.
Thomas Milich, swim & dive
Base Salary: $84,360
Seasons at Cal Poly: 12
Current Contract: 2015-2018
Milich has sent swimmers to the NCAA Championships in five of the past eight years and saw five divers advance to the 2014, 2016 and 2017 NCAA Zone E Qualifying Meets. He has coached 20 individual conference champions while with the Mustangs.
Alex Crozier, women’s soccer
Base Salary: $86,328
Seasons at Cal Poly: 26
Current contract: 2017-2018
Crozier is the first and only coach of the women’s soccer team. He’s led Cal Poly to six NCAA Tournament appearances, three Big West Tournament championships (the last one came in 2003) and eight regular-season conference titles (the last one came in 2013). He’s been named Big West Coach of the Year four times. Cal Poly went 7-9-3 (2-4-2 Big West) in 2018; Crozier hasn’t had a winning season since 2014.
Mark Conover, track & field and cross country
Base Salary: $95,568
Seasons at Cal Poly: 22
Current Contract: 2016-2019
Conover, who was a member of the U.S. Olympic team at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, is a 19-time Big West Conference Coach of the Year for both the men’s and women’s track and field and cross country teams. He has led the Mustangs to 16 total appearances at the NCAA Cross Country Championships (with seven of those coming as a full team). Four track & field athletes won conference titles at the Big West Track & Field Championships in 2018.
Jenny Condon, softball
Base Salary: $105,228
Seasons at Cal Poly: 14
Current Contract: 2016-2019
Condon is a three-time Big West Conference Coach of the Year and led Cal Poly to the NCAA Tournament twice following Big West Conference titles in 2007 and 2009. Cal Poly finished fourth in the Big West last season with a 38-21 record and fifth in 2018 (25-25, 9-12 Big West).
Steve Sampson, men’s soccer
Base Salary: $113,772
Seasons at Cal Poly: 3
Current Contract: 2014-2019
Sampson was the manager of the United States Men's National Team and Major League Soccer's Los Angeles Galaxy before taking over the Cal Poly men's soccer program in 2014. Sampson led Cal Poly to its first NCAA Tournament appearance in seven years, going 11-5-5 in his first season. He had a combined record of 12-19-4 over the next two seasons, missing out on the Big West Tournament in both years. Seven players coached by Sampson have gone on to professional careers.
Sam Crosson, women’s volleyball
Base Salary: $121,440
Seasons at Cal Poly: 6
Current Contract: 2017-2021
Crosson led Cal Poly to its best season in program history in 2017 with an undefeated Big West Conference title and a win in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. He has an overall record of 89-80.
Larry Lee, baseball
Base Salary: $134,112
Seasons at Cal Poly: 16
Current Contract: 2014-2018
Lee has led Cal Poly to nine 30-win campaigns and has a 513-391-2 record in 16 seasons. Cal Poly has finished first in the Big West Conference once (2014), second five times (2005, 2012, 2013, 2017, 2018) and earned three NCAA Division I playoff berths. During Lee’s tenure, 28 Mustangs have been drafted in the top 10 rounds and eight players have reached Major League Baseball.
Faith Mimnaugh, women’s basketball
Base Salary: $141,108
Seasons at Cal Poly: 21
Current Contract: 2017-2020
Mimnaugh has led Cal Poly to three Big West Conference championships since 2010-11, including an NCAA Tournament appearance in 2013. She’s also coached four Big West Players of the Year. Cal Poly finished second in the Big West (17-12) during the 2017-18 season.
Tim Walsh, football
Base Salary: $233,256
Seasons at Cal Poly: 9
Current Contract: 2017-2021
Walsh has a 51-52 record during his run with Cal Poly with two playoff appearances and no playoff wins. Cal Poly went 1-10 in 2017, marking the worst season for the football program since 1964. He led the school to a Great West Conference title in 2011 and a share of the Big Sky Conference crown and an NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision playoff berth in 2012. For comparison, Sacramento State head coach Jody Sears, who led his team to a fourth-place Big Sky finish in 2018, made $195,881 in 2017, according to a Sacramento Bee salary data base
Joe Callero, men’s basketball
Base Salary: $263,328
Seasons at Cal Poly: 9
Current Contract: 2017-2020
Since taking the job in 2009, Callero has coached two teams to above .500 records and has a winning percentage of .427 (120-161). Callero found success early in his tenure and led Cal Poly to two 18-win seasons in 2011-12 and 2012-13 and an NCAA Tournament berth in 2014 following a Big West Conference Tournament championship. Cal Poly's 9-22 record (4-12, 7th Big West) in 2018 was the worst in Callero's nine-year tenure and marked his fifth straight losing season. He helped develop David Nwaba, the first Cal Poly player to make it to the NBA.
This story was originally published May 31, 2018 at 10:16 AM with the headline "How much money do Cal Poly coaches make? Here's a look at their contracts."