| This exploratory study is designed to inventory and analyze contract components used by Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) institutions in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) to further contribute to the body research. The FBS is comprised of 120 institutions and 94 of those institutions submitted contracts to USA Today for publication. Descriptive statistics for the institutions are reported comparing Automatic Qualifying (AQ) conferences to Non Automatic Qualifying (Non-AQ) conferences and BCS top 25 schools to those outside the top 25. Statistically significant differences exist between AQs versus Non-AQ and top 25 versus non top 25 institutions on money factors. The findings provide a foundation for a best practice approach to contract development and help institutional administrators uncover the importance of coaching contracts and deconstruct the fiscal fiasco.;KEYWORDS: Coaching contracts, Football Bowl Subdivision, sport law, best practices, compensation. |