Chris Klieman’s resume reads like a list of greatest hits.
54-6 record.
Three national championships.
Four conference championships.
2-0 record vs FBS teams.
2017 Missouri Valley Coach of the Year.
Those accomplishments alone would garner a raise from your boss, but Matt Larsen saw what Klieman and his players were doing off the field to make an impact. NDSU had sixty players get a 3.0 GPA last semester and 20 racked up a 4.0 GPA. Things are rolling right now for the Bison football program.
The financials look like this for Klieman:
- Base salary: 324,480
- Alumni appearance fee: 25,000
- Media appearance fe: 75,000
- Total package: 424,480
That doesn’t include any performance bonuses like conference championship and playoff wins, which could total another fifty thousand dollars. Klieman will also net another fifty grand if he’s still the Bison head coach on January 5th, 2019, which then his salary is over a half million dollars.
The buyout did not change, that’s still at 150 thousand dollars, which is relatively small in the high price world of college football coaching.
I had several people ask yesterday if Klieman is the highest paid coach in FCS. He is not.
Turner Gill had the standard for a while at Liberty with his annual salary nearly at 700 thousand dollars. Of course the Flames are leaving FCS, so they don’t count in this discussion.
- James Madison’s Mike Houston got a new ten year deal in December that will pay him a base salary of 390 thousand a year. With bonuses, he’s over 500 thousand.
Klieman is likely underpaid with this contract, but he wanted to make sure his assistants were taken care of. Klieman’s value is immeasurable to the NDSU football program right now, the school should know they’re getting a great deal.