Politics & Government
See CT's Highest Paid State Employees
This past fiscal year was the first in a long time with a different top earner position change.
HARTFORD, CT — The 2018 fiscal year saw a change for the top earning state employee with University of Connecticut women’s basketball head coach Geno Auriemma taking the top spot.
Generally in Connecticut the University of Connecticut men’s basketball coach has been the top earner, but this past fiscal year was different because Kevin Ollie was fired a few months before the end of the fiscal year.
The fiscal year runs from July 1, 2017 to June 30, 2018. Connecticut breaks down total compensation by earnings and fringe benefits, which includes money the state pays for retirement, health insurance, life insurance and other items, but doesn’t include costs associated with the state’s large unfunded pension liability. In total the state paid more than $4.4 billion in wages and $1.44 billion in fringe benefits during the fiscal year, according to the state Comptroller's office.
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UConn women’s basketball coach Geno Auriemma was at the top of the list after pulling in more than $2.6 million in earnings and more than $91,000 in fringe benefits for a total compensation of $2.76 million. Auriemma led the team to its 17th straight NCAA Final Four appearance this past season and now has more than 1,060 wins as a head coach.
All of the top 20 people in the list either work for the University of Connecticut or the UConn Health Center. Around 40 people make more than $500,000 in total compensation.
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Former UConn men's basketball coach Kevin Ollie came in second with total compensation of $1.9 million. Ollie was fired for “just cause” in March 2018, but he is legally contesting the matter.
UConn then hired University of Rhode Island head coach Dan Hurley in March 2018 and he made about $674,000 in earnings and $122,000 in fringe benefits. Hurley is expected to receive at least $2.75 million for his first year of work and his contract includes bonuses for both athletic and academic goals, according to the Hartford Courant.
UConn head football coach Randy Edsall was sixth on the list with total compensation of $1.24 million. UConn President Susan Herbst was ninth on the list with a total compensation of about $916,000.
Below are the top 20 earners by total compensation:
| Name | Agency | Earnings | Fringe | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Auriemma,Geno | University of Connecticut | 2,676,793.52 | 91,874.76 | 2,768,668.28 |
| Ollie,Kevin | University of Connecticut | 1,810,384.86 | 93,274.47 | 1,903,659.33 |
| Makkar,Hanspaul | UConn Health Center | 1,372,158.60 | 79,956.20 | 1,452,114.80 |
| Bulsara,Ketan R. | UConn Health Center | 1,308,357.72 | 133,415.05 | 1,441,772.77 |
| Whalen,James D. | UConn Health Center | 1,310,775.36 | 125,230.66 | 1,436,006.02 |
| Edsall,Randy D | University of Connecticut | 1,140,526.64 | 100,994.84 | 1,241,521.48 |
| Moss,Isaac L. | UConn Health Center | 980,088.28 | 87,416.40 | 1,067,504.68 |
| Onyiuke,Hilary | UConn Health Center | 956,844.20 | 87,245.29 | 1,044,089.49 |
| Herbst,Susan | University of Connecticut | 832,202.54 | 84,565.11 | 916,767.65 |
| Rodner,Craig M. | UConn Health Center | 718,328.97 | 90,441.01 | 808,769.98 |
| Mazzocca,Augustus D. | UConn Health Center | 708,040.81 | 91,617.83 | 799,658.64 |
| Hurley,Daniel | University of Connecticut | 674,372.39 | 122,504.95 | 796,877.34 |
| Agwunobi,Andrew C. | UConn Health Center | 669,192.28 | 82,089.37 | 751,281.65 |
| McFadden,David W | UConn Health Center | 639,230.77 | 77,564.66 | 716,795.43 |
| Benedict,David P | University of Connecticut | 618,183.06 | 91,303.77 | 709,486.83 |
| Brewer,Molly A. | UConn Health Center | 610,892.66 | 66,818.95 | 677,711.61 |
| Laurencin,Cato T. | UConn Health Center | 593,626.60 | 80,615.83 | 674,242.43 |
| Arciero,Robert A. | UConn Health Center | 584,451.33 | 81,032.23 | 665,483.56 |
| Shea,Kevin P. | UConn Health Center | 584,944.24 | 75,940.22 | 660,884.46 |
| Elliott,John A. | University of Connecticut | 565,290.65 | 77,648.98 | 642,939.63 |
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