Who got paid — and who didn't — in Wisconsin's bonuses for football, volleyball, soccer (2024)

University of Wisconsin volleyball coaches got rewarded for another trip to the Final Four with bonuses totaling more than $115,000.

Coach Kelly Sheffield got most of that, $80,655.65, after the Badgers played in the semifinals of the NCAA Tournament for the fourth time in five seasons.

Qualifying for the Final Four earns Badgers volleyball coaches a bonus of 15% of their salary. Associate head coaches Brittany Dildine and Gary White received $19,125 and $16,065, respectively.

The Athletic Board approved the bonuses for coaches of fall sports in a closed session at its Jan. 26 meeting. The figures were released to BadgerExtra after a public records request.

There was a notable absence from the list of recipients: football coach Luke Fickell.

A seven-win regular season qualified Badgers football coaches for a 4% bonus, according to the athletic department's postseason bonus policy.

Fickell had a $7.5 million salary for the 2023 season but the figure on which his bonus is calculated is set at $1 million in his contract.

Wisconsin football coaches combine their bonuses and distribute them as approved by the coach and athletic director, according to the policy. Last season's bonus pool was $159,000, according to the list of payouts.

Ten people shared in that figure but Fickell wasn't one of them. Six assistant coaches and four strength and conditioning staff members got bonuses that ranged from $5,000 to $25,000.

The four assistants who weren't listed as receiving a bonus were the ones who left the team after the season or were reassigned: receivers coach Mike Brown (left for Notre Dame), safeties coach Colin Hitschler (left for Alabama), defensive line coach Greg Scruggs (left for Michigan) and offensive line coach Jack Bicknell Jr. (reassigned within the program).

A Wisconsin spokesperson said the bonus disbursem*nt was determined after the departures.

Fickell has a separate bonus structure in his contract for winning the Big Ten championship game ($350,000), qualifying for the College Football Playoff ($200,000), making a playoff semifinal game ($400,000) and winning the national championship game ($500,000). But the percentage of his bonus going to the pool through the policy and being distributed to assistants is always in effect.

Badgers women's soccer coaches got a 5% bonus for appearing in the NCAA Tournament. Coach Paula Wilkins received $10,508.55.

Cross country coach Mick Byrne and his staff get their bonuses considered by the Athletic Board after the track and field season.