New Arizona State head coach Herbie Behm is being paid significantly more than his former boss Bob Bowman to take over the swimming & diving programs at Arizona State University.
Behm’s base salary in year 1 of the contract is $274,000, which will increase by $10,000 in each subsequent year of the contract for its life until June 30, 2029.
While Bowman received a gigantic raise to go to the University of Texas, the promotion of his former top assistant Behm to head coach won’t be a discount for Arizona State. While Bowman’s base salary at Arizona State was $219,000, Behm’s will be $274,000, about a 25% increase over his former boss.
Behm entered the offseason as one of the top head coaching candidates in the country after the men’s program won its first NCAA title. With a number of high-profile jobs available around the country, Behm likely would have had options if he had hit the open market. Arizona State locked him in before that happened, though, announcing the coaching swap just days after the teams’ titles and before most of those other jobs opened up.
Behm’s bonus structure will be similar to Bowman’s, including the $50,000 reward for an NCAA team title.
Behm’s contract in his first year as a head coach makes him one of the highest-paid coaches in the country and possibly make this the richest contract for a first year head coach in collegiate swimming history.
Academic Bonuses
Behm will receive a bonus for the highest achievement in each category, meaning he could receive up to $20,000 in bonuses in this category.
| Achievement | Bonus Amount |
| Men’s Team GPA Greater than 3.0 | $2,500 |
| Men’s Team GPA Greater than 3.15 | $3,750 |
| Men’s Team GPA Greater than 3.30 | $5,000 |
| Men’t GSR >90% | $2,500 |
| Men’s GSR >95% | $3,750 |
| Men’s GSR 100% | $5,000 |
| Women’s Team GPA Greater than 3.0 | $2,500 |
| Women’s Team GPA Greater than 3.15 | $3,750 |
| Women’s Team GPA Greater than 3.30 | $5,000 |
| Women’t GSR >90% | $2,500 |
| Women’s GSR >95% | $3,750 |
| Women’s GSR 100% | $5,000 |
Athletic Bonuses
Behm can receive the maximum bonus in each cateogry for each men’s and women’s team, meaning that he would max out at $160,000 in bonuses for athletic performances.
| Achievement | Bonus Amount |
| Conference Team Champion | $10,000 |
| Conference Team 2nd Place | $5,000 |
| NCAA Champion | $50,000 |
| NCAA Top 5 | $25,000 |
| NCAA Top 10 | $15,000 |
| Men’s or Women’s Conference Coach of the Year | $10,000 |
| Men’s or Women’s National Coach of the Year | $10,000 |
Not sure if SwimSwam has ever put this together before, but I’d love to see a list of the top 10 highest paid swim coaches in America and their salaries.
Bowman going Band for Band, Herbie going M for M
coaches making less, especially under 100K or even 50K, have to love seeing this. Raise the bar for swim coaches pay!
Cost of living adjustment shows 274k in Tempe AZ is equal to about 248k in Charlottesville. Huge underpay for DeSorbo.
Good for him! This is a sign that swimming is increasingly becoming more of a mainstream sport (at least I hope so)
Got this position after being a nice guy in the right place under right head coach at the right time. Good luck keeping the culture up but I just don’t know how this is gonna pan out.
There are no guarantees in coaching, especially in swimming, but Herbie is smart, fully engaged, and a good recruiter – he’s done the legwork to build his personal brand in the last 5 years. If you have those 3 things going for you, you’ve got 75% of the battle down already.
He’s a very nice guy but nearly 300k per year for a first time HC is just nuts. Before Bowman this program had folded once before and decisions like this could force an AD to take a second look at ASU’s investment into swimming if it doesn’t produce. That being said, the recruits from the Bowman effect could carry ASU a few more years…
This is so well-deserved for Herbie and so good for our sport. Fully support this.
Absolutely! The top coaches need to fight for top salary because they are the ones with the negotiating power and that sets the standard for the entire coaching tree.
DeSorbo needs a new agent.