THE CASE FOR PEER REVIEW. University Diaries republishes a bar chart frpm Ph.D. Comics. It purports to show inequities in higher education, with 2008 dollar denominated median salaries for university presidents of $321K, compared to a median for provosts of $243K and deans of $189K for deans. It then shows mean salaries, of $95K for tenured male and $86K for tenured female professors, and $70K for untenured male and $66K for untenured female professors. Then comes a bar for football coaches with a value of $1m.

The footnotes, however, suggest that more careful research is required. The calculations for adminstrators and professors rely on three surveys, of which at least the American Association of University Professors salary survey is self-selected and self-reported. The blending of overlapping data, if such exist, is not described.

A comparison of the few current holders of the top rung on a tournament ladder in a winner-take-all market with an aggregate among holders of several rungs on a career ladder in an incompletely-competing-groups market misleads.

The calculation for football coaches relies on a USA Today article on compensation of current Division I coaches. That article might have cherry-picked its data for shock value. Yes, there is a positional arms race in college football, and yes, the football bubble is likely to pop. On the other hand, I have not heard of any advisors dissuading aspiring Ph.D.s and suggesting that they take a football theory course from Kinesiology in order to moonlight as an assistant coach at a local high school. Yes, I'm repeating myself.

To suggest, however, that there's money in football coaching is to neglect important differences in the career ladders. In this era of serial administrators, there are probably a few Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain types who do a hitch as college president and return to faculty. Suppressing a rebellion hasn't been required.

That faculty salary probably aggregates academic superstars, successful grant-getters, individuals with opportunities in business or government or consultancies with journeyman professors.