PROVIDENCE – Ed Cooley not only received strong financial compensation from Providence College in what would be his last year as the school’s head men’s basketball coach, but he was also the highest-paid coach in the Big East Conference at that time.
In a review of Form 990 documents and state data of all 11 Big East Conference member colleges and universities by Providence Business News, Cooley received $4.9 million in total compensation from PC in the 2023 fiscal year, which ended June 30, 2023. That was the most of all 15 coaches who either coached in the 2022-23 season or who didn’t and were paid by the 11 conference member schools.
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Cooley, per PC’s 2023 fiscal year Form 990, received $3.3 million in base salary, $1.1 million in bonuses and incentives, $202,793 in “other” compensation, $130,500 in retirement compensation and $35,376 in nontaxable compensation. Additionally, Cooley was the only men’s basketball coach across all Big East schools to receive a year-to-year pay increase of more than $1 million at the time – his total compensation from PC in 2022 was $3.8 million.
Cooley was also the only athletic coach at PC to receive a seven-figure salary. Nate Lehman, current head men’s hockey coach at PC and with a 2015 NCAA national championship win on his resume, was paid in total $787,826 in 2023, second-most at the college.
Cooley left PC in March 2023 after 12 seasons to become Georgetown University’s men’s basketball coach, making a reported $6 million per year. Financials noting the salary of Kim English, current head coach of PC men’s basketball, are not yet available.
By comparison, Steve Wojciechowski, the former Marquette University coach who was fired in March 2021 and coached the Salt Lake City Stars of the NBA’s G League last year, was paid $4.6 million by the university in the 2023 fiscal year. Basketball hall of famer Patrick Ewing, then-Georgetown head coach who was fired after the 2022-23 season – paving the way for Cooley’s hire, made $4.1 million in 2023.
Dan Hurley, head men’s basketball coach for the University of Connecticut – the two-time defending NCAA national champions – made $3.8 million in 2023. Hurley, who previously coached at the University of Rhode Island and was courted by the Los Angeles Lakers this past spring, in July signed a six-year contract extension worth $50 million to remain at UConn, according to ESPN.
James Bessette is the PBN special projects editor, and also covers the nonprofit and education sectors. You may reach him at Bessette@PBN.com. You may also follow him on X at @James_Bessette.
