Bumped. GO BRUINS. -N

UCLA has a reputation for severely underpaying its coaches and being unwilling to invest in its athletics. So with Howland signing his fifth contract extension in five years Jeff Eisenberg took a look at how Howland's contract compares with those of some of the other top coaches in the country.

- Billy Donovan (Florida), $3.5 million
- Thad Matta (Ohio State), $2.5 million
- John Calipari (Memphis), $2.35 million
- Billy Gillispie (Kentucky), $2.3 million
- Tom Crean (Indiana), $2.3 million
- Ben Howland (UCLA), $1.97 million
- Roy Williams (North Carolina), $1.8 million
- Tubby Smith (Minnesota), $1.8 million
- Tom Izzo (Michigan State), $1.7 million
- Rick Pitino (Louisville), $1.65 million
- Bill Self (Kansas) $1.4 million (Expected to renegotiate this offseason)

Not bad for an athletic department that has a history of underpaying coaches. It's clear the attitude of the Morgan Center has changed since DG took over and coaches who perform are rewarded. Just check out the numbers of how Howland's salary has gone up in the past five years (again from Jeff Eisenberg).

Howland's annual salary
2003-04: $900,000 (11-17, 7th in Pac-10)
2004-05: $900,000 (18-11, lost to Texas Tech in NCAA first round)
2005-06: $900,000 (32-7, lost to Florida in NCAA title game)
2006-07: $1.15 million (30-6, lost to Florida in Final Four)
2007-08: $1.5 million (35-4, lost to Memphis in Final Four)
2008-09: $1.97 million (???)

I don't think anybody would argue that Howland has deserved each and every one of those raises. Maybe we'll see him get another raise after next season deserving for a coach who brought home banner #12?