Stanford just posted its job opening of Greg Meehan‘s former position, Paul A. Violich Director of Women’s Swimming. Under the posting, the estimated salary is listed as $160,000 – $195,000 per annum. It is unknown what Meehan’s contract was with Stanford as it is a private university.
Last week, USA Swimming announced that former Stanford women’s head swimming and diving coach Greg Meehan would become the next National Team Director.
Although Meehan’s salary with USA Swimming will not be public until USA Swimming’s required tax filings are released sometime next year, the job posting gave an estimated salary of $300,000-$400,000 base plus bonus. Lindsay Mintenko, the prior National Team Director, had a base salary of $293,927 in reportable compensation plus an additional $52,951 in estimated other compensation.
To compare some of the top head coaching salaries in the NCAA, Bob Bowman had a base salary for his first season at Texas of $400,000. Bowman led the Texas men (as Director of Swimming and Diving) to an NCAA title. Todd DeSorbo of Virginia led the women to their 5th NCAA title in a row and as of the contract he signed in 2021 had a base salary of $140,000. DeSorbo leads both the men’s and women’s programs. Tennessee’s Matt Kredich also leads the men and women and has a base salary of $270,000.
With all this knowledge Braden Keith knows about college swimming it’s shocking that he’s not a top candidate for this Stanford job. How is no one talking about him? He’s obviously the most qualified. He has so much experience running Swimswam and controlling narratives, which is why he is the perfect candidate for one of the most coveted positions in college sports. Stanford if you are reading this, call your boy. You may think I’m kidding, but I’m being dead serious.
No, thank you.
how are torri and teammates training for long course championships?
has meehan left for colorado and assistants running workouts?
Margo Geer
She’s making $160 base in Tuscaloosa.
And That goes a lot further in Tuscaloosa than in Palo Alto.
Do you think Stanford was or would’ve been willing to match USA Swimming’s job offer to keep him?
i dont think the stanford athletic department has any money to counter an offer like that. dont forget theyre in the hole in the aftermath of the pac 12 fiasco, in the midst of trying to revive “revenue generating” sports like football and basketball, and under an overall university level hiring freeze due to this current presidential administrations political whimsies. i dont think in that environment, greg can ask the ad (whos now gone) for more money lol
endowments are established to grant payouts / pay for program expenses in perpetuity — even for what we think are small payouts require a large initial pot of money. im sure greg could ask the donors for a raise, but i… Read more »
I heard that is the starting salary for substitute teachers in the area.
Median household income in Santa Clara County is about $160,000. So while this certainly doesn’t live like a king in the area, let’s not pretend like it’s a pauper’s wage.
Especially when you get a housing benefit and really generous matching on retirement plans.
Also free tuition for your children and access to great child care
it’s not much if you’re considered one of the best in the world at your craft… low expectations and accepting such are one the key issues swimming must solve for if it is to survive..
Being paid $195K for a job that generates zero revenue is the key issue swimming must resolve to survive.
The position is fully endowed. While endowments are not operating revenue, they are revenue.
So why the relatively low salary? Why not attract a higher caliber coach with a competitive salary?
yes = generate more revenue
An apparel contract, camp money, and any other endorsements
Great points. Swim camps can be a huge source of extra income for coaches. Many coaches also get booster money that isn’t public info.
Stanford camps (co-led by Schemmel and Meehan, though not sure if Greg is going to stick around this year), are $800/kid and 8 sessions, all day camps. I don’t know how many swimmers are in each session, and what the school’s cut of it is, but if it’s 20 kids/session…that’s $128,000 in additional revenue. If it’s 30 kids/session, that’s $200k in additional revenue. If it’s 40 kids/session…you get the idea.
And typically, the head coach (who also gets the most revenue) isn’t working triple time to cover the camp. Lots of “counselors” (athletes) who are making minimum rage, coaching a lane and taking them to the cafeteria. Many a swimmer comes home from camp gets asked by mom and pop, “how was coach XYZ?” (meaning the head coach) and Scooter’s reply is “Who?”
This is great opportunity for Coach Jake at Liberty. Our sources on the ground in Virginia have said he has been out of the office for the last couple of days.
You’re kidding, right?
Liberty has been recruiting and racing pretty well
Wild that the salary for a head coach of a perennial Top 5 program < pay for an underachieving enterprise account executive at virtually every SaaS company
Well you see….that SaaS company makes money …
This is an embarrassment to Swimming. For the vaunted Staaaaanford to offer such a pittance is laughable. Why do not the alumna step up, endow the salary @ $700K BASE? They should just do away with swimming at the farm!