"University of Tulsa head coach Steven Kragthorpe was earning $327k in 2004, $402k in 2005. I don’t know how much in 2006 – that tax return isn’t available on Guidestar.org just yet. The university president earned $276k and 264k in those two years. Tulsa is the smallest Division I-A school in the NCAA and this private university has an endowment of around $750 million.

Rice head coach Ken Hatfield was earning $489k in 2004, $425k in 2005. The university president earned $425k and 604k in those two years. Rice is the second-smallest Division I-A school in the NCAA, but this private university has a staggering endowment of over $4 billion.

Then Rice hired University of Tulsa defensive coordinator Todd Graham to replace the retiring (because he was on a long losing streak and they made him) Ken Hatfield. They got a bargain, paying him about $325k per year. After just one year he’s leaving Rice (no great surprise)... to go BACK to Tulsa (what! Why?). For a reported $1.1 million annual salary!

We’ve been looking at the Tulsa tax return... then the Rice tax return... then the Tulsa tax return...and can’t figure out where the money is coming from. Tulsa has less than 1/3 the revenues, less than 1/5 the endowment, fewer students and lower tuition rates. Clearly they really, really love football in Tulsa."