New University of Wisconsin head swim coach Jack Brown will receive a salary similar to what other recent Big Ten head coaching hires earned in their first year. Archive photo via UNC Athletics
New University of Wisconsin head swim coach Jack Brown will receive a $170,000 base salary, his contract reveals. That’s roughly the same as outgoing head coach Yuri Suguiyama made before taking a job as a National Team coach at USA Swimming.
That amount matches the amount that Matt Bowe received as a first year head coach with rivals the University of Michigan two years ago. Bowe arrived in Ann Arbor with a similar resume to Brown.
Brown’s initial deal is for five seasons, due to expire on May 31, 2030. Wisconsin renews coaches’ contracts on a rolling basis – presuming their performance is satisfactory. Each season, the athletics department makes a recommendation to the board on whether to renew a coach’s contract (which keeps it at the same length) or to maintain it (without adding the extra year), which is viewed as an evaluation of whether they’re meeting expectations or not.
Brown also receives the full cost of moving expenses, a university car (or vehicle allowance), and the ability to participate in the school’s post-season bonus program.
Brown can earn up to 20% of his salary, or $34,000, in bonuses.
University of Wisconsin Incentive Structure
Achievement
Bonus
Dollar Value
Note
Conference Champion
5%
8,500
Team Finish in Top 20% of the country
5%
8,500
Team Finish 2-4 (NCAAs)
8%
13,600
NCAA Team Championship
15%
25,500
Individual NCAA Appearances (total)
2%
3,400
Only if they don’t qualify for the team award
Individual Champion
5%
8,500
The contract also includes a $170,000 buyout for both the university and the coach, subject to the usual standards of whether the termination was for cause or without cause.
While Brown’s contract does not include a guaranteed pool of salaries for assistant coaches, two new members of his staff have already agreed to their annual salaries.
Those numbers are both similar in scale to what their predecessors made Last season’s compensation numbers, per the Wisconsin State Journal, which likely includes bonuses beyond base salary:
The staff is expected to remain at six coaches next season.
No members of Suguiyama’s staff have been officially announced to return next season, though Kristy King did remain on deck to help with the transition period.
Update: Wisconsin has released that Patton’s base salary is $62,500.
Brown has spent the past 5 years at North Carolina, where he has served as an associate head coach under Tar Heels head coach Mark Gangloff. Brown primarily coaches IM, middle-distance, and distance at UNC. Prior to his time at UNC, Brown spent a total of 7 seasons at Missouri, the first 4 of which he was a volunteer and grad assistant, and the final 3 as an assistant coach. At Mizzou, Brown again coached IM, middle-distance, and distance, but in his 3 years as a full-time assistant coach there, he was the primary distance coach for the Tigers.
Brown’s groups saw significant success in his 5 years with the Tar Heels, seeing a number of individual and relay program records. This past season’s success in particular likely made him a very attractive candidate for a head coaching position. UNC had some excellent performances with their IM, mid-distance, and distance groups this year. Louis Dramm came in 11th in the 200 IM (1:40.92) and 13th in the 400 IM (3:39.41) at the Men’s NCAA Championships back in March, setting new program records in both events. Patrick Hussey, who was an Olympian for Canada last summer in Paris, set a new UNC program in the men’s 200 free this past season, swimming a 1:31.68. On the women’s side, Mary Macaulay took 16th at NCAAs in the 200 IM with a 1:55.46.
Brown is also a published author, having written “The Six Questions: A Step-By-Step Guide To Swimming Fast.”
In the 2024-2025 season, Wisconsin finished 6th at Men’s Big Tens and 22nd and Men’s NCAAs, while the women’s team was 4th at Big Tens and 12th at NCAAs.
Spencer Penland contributed to this report.
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Hmmm
10 months ago
Didn’t Minnesota announce a pay raise for their Head Coach to $150k/yr this spring? They’re waaaay behind if Wisconsin is dishing this out to a new head coach!
ScottyJ 2.0, LLC
10 months ago
I think that NCAA team championship bonus is pretty safely out of reach…
Underwarters
10 months ago
My practice for the day at The Soderholm Family Aquatic Center at the Nicholas Recreation Center:
25 free
100 back
100 breast
400 backstroke pull
75 free
6 explosive starts after multiple downward and upward dogs on the pool deck
swim out to the flags
Swim into wall, focusing on my finish 6 more times
Dry off and find a warm spot on the pool deck, multiple downward and upward dogs on the pool deck before I grab a strawberry poptart from the vending machine in the lobby 😉
But have they been able to get the pool lights fixed yet? 🤔
MigBike
10 months ago
Not enough compensation for top tier swimming coaches – Bowman, Durden, Nesty and DeSorbo should be making $1 million base.
Alberio, Kredich, Behm and Capitani should be making $750,000 base!
Come on AD’s what is with the slave labor.
Professors bring in grants that pay for admin, laboratories, graduate researchers, etc. oh, and the grants typically cover part or all of a professor’s salary
Great point – Swim and dive coaches should be part time and work for free.
With all the Federal funding universities receive, plus the mega grants professors bring to the table, plus the insane tuition and fees piled on families it sorta seems like the university/college system (glorified residential babysitting) in America is broken.
What if our country instituted (does Trump read swim swam?) a mandatory 2 year service in either; Military (stronger military), Agriculture (replace migrant workers) or Social service (clean up cities) for every person before one reaches the age of 21.
Not sure about those numbers but def those top coaches should all be making 500k, others should be in the 300-400 and the base for a D1 full squad school should be 200K
On the updated UW site, Jennah is indeed listed as a coach.
Swimming
10 months ago
You’re talking about six coaches: Jack Brown, Johno Fergusson, Ted Patton and Andrew Capobianco. That’s four. Jennah Haney is obviously still out there, so we’re down to one coach.
Braden Keith is the Editor-in-Chief and a co-founder/co-owner of SwimSwam.com.
He first got his feet wet by building The Swimmers' Circle beginning in January 2010, and now comes to SwimSwam to use that experience and help build a new leader in the sport of swimming.
Aside from his life on the InterWet, …
Didn’t Minnesota announce a pay raise for their Head Coach to $150k/yr this spring? They’re waaaay behind if Wisconsin is dishing this out to a new head coach!
I think that NCAA team championship bonus is pretty safely out of reach…
My practice for the day at The Soderholm Family Aquatic Center at the Nicholas Recreation Center:
25 free
100 back
100 breast
400 backstroke pull
75 free
6 explosive starts after multiple downward and upward dogs on the pool deck
swim out to the flags
Swim into wall, focusing on my finish 6 more times
Dry off and find a warm spot on the pool deck, multiple downward and upward dogs on the pool deck before I grab a strawberry poptart from the vending machine in the lobby 😉
Tyler?
But have they been able to get the pool lights fixed yet? 🤔
Not enough compensation for top tier swimming coaches – Bowman, Durden, Nesty and DeSorbo should be making $1 million base.
Alberio, Kredich, Behm and Capitani should be making $750,000 base!
Come on AD’s what is with the slave labor.
Wut
Should be making $1M based on what economic return? I assume $170k is more than tenured professors there.
Good point – Based upon economic return most tenured professors should loose tenure and make minimum wage.
Professors bring in grants that pay for admin, laboratories, graduate researchers, etc. oh, and the grants typically cover part or all of a professor’s salary
Great point – Swim and dive coaches should be part time and work for free.
With all the Federal funding universities receive, plus the mega grants professors bring to the table, plus the insane tuition and fees piled on families it sorta seems like the university/college system (glorified residential babysitting) in America is broken.
What if our country instituted (does Trump read swim swam?) a mandatory 2 year service in either; Military (stronger military), Agriculture (replace migrant workers) or Social service (clean up cities) for every person before one reaches the age of 21.
Setting the bar too low. $10 mil or bust
Not sure about those numbers but def those top coaches should all be making 500k, others should be in the 300-400 and the base for a D1 full squad school should be 200K
That’s DOCTOR Jack Brown, PhD…
Well …. okay
“THE” Doctor Jack Brown. PhD
Jenna is confirmed to be staying.
On the updated UW site, Jennah is indeed listed as a coach.
You’re talking about six coaches: Jack Brown, Johno Fergusson, Ted Patton and Andrew Capobianco. That’s four. Jennah Haney is obviously still out there, so we’re down to one coach.
Not Kristy?
Kristy has announced here that she will no longer be coaching. So there may still be a place left.