WESTWOOD—According to payroll data released by the University of California Office of the President, Head Coach Jim Mora is the highest paid University of California employee.

In 2014, Mora earned almost $3.5 million, which is a 44 percent increase over the $2.4 million he earned in 2013.

UCLA head football coach Jim Mora speaks at an event in El Paso, Texas. Photo courtesy of the City of El Paso.
UCLA head football coach Jim Mora speaks at an event in El Paso, Texas. Photo courtesy of the City of El Paso.

Mora has been the head football coach at UCLA since 2011. He previously coached National Football League teams, including the Atlanta Falcons and the Seattle Seahawks.

In his first three years at UCLA, he led the Bruins to 29 wins, with at least nine wins each season. Those 29 wins are the “most-ever by a UCLA coach in his initial three seasons on the job,” according to Mora’s UCLA biography.

His excellent performance no doubt affected his pay, but salaries were also increased across the board.

The figures show that the UC system expanded its payroll to $12.6 billion across all institutions, which is a 7.5 percent increase from 2013. This general increase of salary was due in part, according to the data, to a more competitive wage market. Wages may also have been affected by the expansion of facilities offered by UC institutions due to higher student enrollment.

Coaches and health science faculty members saw the biggest increase in salaries. Twenty-eight UC employees were paid more than $1,000,000 in 2014. Of those, 17 worked at UCLA, and all of them were either coaches or members of the health science faculty.

The second highest paid UC employee was Steve Alford, head coach for UCLA’s men’s basketball team. He earned about $2.75 million in 2014. The third highest paid UC employee was Doctor Khalil Tabsh, M.D., Clinical Professor and Vice Chair of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine. He earned $2.3 million in 2014.

Coaches and health science faculty were disproportionately likely to receive seven-digit salaries because of the UC’s compensation model. According to the policy, UC employees may receive additional compensation on top of their base pay in recognition of outstanding performance.