By Rick Wills

Published: Friday, May 28, 2010

The University of Pittsburgh's highest paid employees are its basketball and football coaches, according to the school's most recent filings with the Internal Revenue Service.

Men's basketball coach Jamie Dixon earned $1.39 million in total compensation in 2008, while football's Dave Wannstedt earned $1.01 million. Total compensation includes base salary, bonuses, incentives and deferred compensation as well as nontaxable benefits.

By comparison, Kentucky's John Calipari, a Moon native and former Pitt assistant coach, is paid about $4 million each year and is the country's best-paid men's basketball coach, according to the Associated Press. Texas pays football coach Mack Brown $5.1 million annually, the AP has reported.

"The compensation of coaches involves market forces that impact successful elite programs," said Robert Hill, Pitt's vice chancellor for office of public affairs.

Pitt's other highest-paid employees include Ronald B. Herberman, a professor of medicine and associate vice chancellor for cancer research who earned $670,614 in 2008. The school's athletic director, Steve Pederson, earned $473,232. Donald S. Burke, associate vice chancellor for global health and dean of the Graduate School of Public Health, was paid $448,421.

The compensation figures appear on IRS forms filed by Pitt earlier this month.

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