The top names in Ohio State athletics were compensated well in the last calendar year.
According to a report from Sheridan Hendrix of The Columbus Dispatch, Ryan Day, Chris Holtmann, Gene Smith and Jim Knowles claimed the top-four spots on a list of the top-15 highest-paid employees at Ohio State in 2022, which also featured several names from the Wexner Medical Center and a few in administration. However, university president Kristina Johnson's salary did not reach the threshold.
| RANK | NAME | TITLE | DEPARTMENT | REGULAR PAY | GROSS PAY |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | RYAN DAY | FOOTBALL HEAD COACH | ATHLETICS | 1,770,833 | 8,021,377 |
| 2 | CHRIS HOLTMANN | MEN'S BASKETBALL HEAD COACH | ATHLETICS | 797,590 | 3,108,721 |
| 3 | GENE SMITH | ATHLETIC DIRECTOR | ATHLETICS | 1,595,800 | 2,672,800 |
| 4 | JIM KNOWLES | FOOTBALL DC, LINEBACKERS COACH | ATHLETICS | 1,900,000 | 2,105,974 |
| 5 | VISHNU SRINIVASAN | VP AND CHIEF INVESTMENT OFFICER IN INVESTMENTS | UNIVERSITY | 757,500 | 1,826,263 |
| 6 | MARK LARMORE | FORMER WEXNER CFO, VP FOR HEALTH SCIENCES | HEALTH SYSTEM | 947,645 | 1,691,058 |
| 7 | KEVIN WILSON | FORMER FOOTBALL OC | ATHLETICS | 1,400,000 | 1,645,200 |
| 8 | MICHAEL EICHER | SENIOR VP FOR ADVANCEMENT, PRESIDENT OF THE OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION | UNIVERSITY | 797,900 | 1,525,773 |
| 9 | JAY ANDERSON | WEXNER COO | UNIVERSITY | 1,112,271 | 1,468,558 |
| 10 | RUSSELL LONSER | PROFESSOR, CHAIR OF NEUROLOGICAL SURGERY | UNIVERSITY | 1,140,688 | 1,387,077 |
| 11 | LARRY JOHNSON | FOOTBALL ASSOCIATE HEAD COACH, DEFENSIVE LINE COACH | ATHLETICS | 1,133,00 | 1,332,810 |
| 12 | JAMES EIDER | DIRECTOR OF NEUROSURGICAL ONCOLOGY, ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR IN NEUROLOGICAL SURGERY | UNIVERSITY | 668,051 | 1,248,604 |
| 13 | TIMOTHY PAWLIK | WEXNER SURGEON-IN-CHIEF, CHAIR FOR THE DEPARTMENT OF SURGERY | UNIVERSITY | 940,241 | 1,243,249 |
| 14 | CAROL BRADFORD | DEAN OF COLLEGE FOR MEDICINE, VP OF HEALTH SCIENCES | UNIVERSITY | 921,507 | 1,213,821 |
| 15 | ANDREW THOMAS | WEXNER CHEIF CLINICAL OFFICER, ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR FOR INTERNAL MEDICINE | UNIVERSITY | 810,374 | 1,169,025 |
As Ohio State's top earner in 2022, Day received over $8 million in compensation last year. In addition to his base pay of $1.7 million, the football head coach earned $5.7 million in allowance, supplemental payments and incentives, and $548,643 in bonuses, according to Hendrix's data as of Dec. 31, 2022.
Holtmann was the second-highest earner at Ohio State last year, receiving over $3.1 million in total compensation, broken down into a $797,590 base pay, $131,731 in bonuses and $2.8 million in other earnings such as allowances and incentives. After Holtmann, Smith and Knowles were the next names on the list, with the former earning $2.6 million and the latter $2.1 million in 2022.
Vishnu Srinivasan and Mark Larmore were the only employees who kept Ohio State athletics from claiming the top-five spots on the list, as former football offensive coordinator Kevin Wilson, now the head coach at Tulsa, was the seventh-highest earner in 2022.
Srinivasan, vice president and chief investment officer in the school's office of investments, earned $1.8 million last year from a $757,500 salary and an over $1 million bonus, while Larmore (who retired in August) took home $947,645 in base pay with a similar bonus package to Srinivasan. Wilson earned a $1.4 million salary in 2022 with incentives.
In the No. 11 spot, football associate head coach and defensive line coach Larry Johnson was the final member of athletics to be featured in the top 15. Johnson earned a $1.13 million salary with incentives in 2022.
According to Hendrix, Johnson was not among the top 20 earners at Ohio State last year. With a $927,000 base pay and just over $1 million in total compensation – eight times less gross pay than Day – Johnson took the No. 22 spot on the list of highest-paid employees at the university. Johnson announced last November she plans to step down from her position as president at the end of the 2022-23 school year.
University-wide, Ohio State employed over 51,000 faculty and staff who received a combined $3.35 billion in total earnings in 2022, according to Hendrix's report from the university, which increased from $3.15 billion in 2021. The university also had 2,200 more employees in 2022. The 2022 median annual base salary was $50,065 for Ohio State employees, including those from athletics, health services and the university.
