In the business of collegiate athletics, head coaching positions at a Division I school can be lucrative. In the region of southeast Louisiana, LSU head football coach Brian Kelly earns about $9.9 million per year.
The head coach for LSU’s baseball team made about $1.2 million his first year. Of course, football is the biggest money maker when it comes to sports, so it’s not surprising to see the salary difference between LSU’s football and baseball programs.
Those are also storied programs. What happens when a much smaller university tries to start a baseball program? In the case of Dillard University in New Orleans and Trennis Grant, the incoming head coach actually a took a pay cut to take on the challenge and rewards of being at the helm for the baseball team’s inaugural season. Coach Grant was working at Amazon in Tennessee before he eventually arrived for the 2023 season at Dillard University.
“I was making more than I was making here for sure, easily,” Coach Grant said.
Dillard University is in the network of historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs). Their student population obviously differ from what some call PWIs (Public White Institutions). HBCU’s historically have been smaller, and their athletic teams have competed in smaller conferences. As you would guess, the HBCU coaching salaries tend to be smaller than PWIs. But like many things in life, it’s all about perspective. Grant spent several years volunteering as an assistant coach at various colleges. While some would say he left a higher paying job for a lower paying one, Grant’s previous experience allowed him to see the head coaching position at Dillard University as a tremendous opportunity.
“Keyword: I GET paid to do it. I’ve done it for free. I get to get paid to coach baseball. Come on, that’s just like me getting $1 million in my opinion,” Coach Grant told me.
So, what’s it like to build a team and baseball program from scratch? I visited DU’s Bleu Devils at a recent practice to find out. Listen to my conversation with Coach Grant here.
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