UTEP football head coach Dana Dimel, who is leading the Miners on a 5-1 start to the 2021 season, is the lowest-paid coach in all of Conference USA, according to USA Today.

However, C-USA football coaches make between $746,000 and $1.9 million, which isn't a very significant pay gap. What is significant, though, is the starting salary for first-year coaches compared to a seasoned coach like Dimel. For example, Will Hall ($800,000 per year) and Charles Huff ($755,500) are making more as a first-year coach compared to Dimel, who is entering year four.

Some of these numbers are a little low for the quality of the coach. Skip Holtz, who holds the best win/loss record (149-112) of any coach in the league at La Tech, is being paid $779,00 as a base salary, and has about $395,000 in bonuses that raise his contract significantly per year.

Dimel is in the fourth year of his five-year deal that he initially signed after the 2017 season. His base salary is $748,966, which is comparable to Western Kentucky head coach Tyson Helton ($751,470). The report also shows that Dimel also took a $41,533 contract reduction due to the COVID-19 pandemic. His buyout is $830,666 with UTEP.

Coming into this season, UTEP football had won just five games under Dimel. The Miners have started off the 2021 season with a 5-1 record, searching for their first bowl appearance since 2014. Dimel has helped turn the program into a more competitive product than the winless program that he inherited in 2018.

Here's the list of C-USA's highest-paid football coaches by USA Today. This takes into account COVID-19 reductions as total pay. This also doesn't include bonuses or other contract incentives that the coaches could earn in 2021.

  1. Seth Littrell (No. 69 in FBS) — $1,900,000
  2. Bill Clark (No. 71 in FBS) — $1,550,000
  3. Butch Davis (No. 84 in FBS) — $1,093,956
  4. Mike Bloomgren (No. 87 in FBS) — $934,171
  5. Rick Stockstill (No. 88 in FBS) — $910,504
  6. Jeff Traylor (No. 91 in FBS) — $830,000
  7. Will Hall (No. 94 in FBS) — $800,000
  8. Will Healy (No. 96 in FBS) — $793,901
  9. Skip Holtz (No. 98 in FBS) — $779,000
  10. Willie Taggart (No. 100 in FBS) — $775,000
  11. Ricky Rahne (No. 101 in FBS) — $762,296
  12. Charles Huff (No. 102 in FBS) — $755,500
  13. Tyson Helton (No. 103 in FBS) — $751,470
  14. Dana Dimel (No. 105 in FBS) — $748,966
TeamHead CoachYears at SchoolOverall Record >2020Record at School before 2021CUSA Record
Louisiana TechSkip Holtz9149–11261–4141–21
Middle TennesseeRick Stockstill1694–9294–9271–45
FIUButch Davis486–6423-2114–13
Florida AtlanticWillie Taggart261–665–44–2
Southern MissWill Hall156–200–00–0
UABBill Clark651–2640–2226–10
UTEPDana Dimel435–6610-283–19
North TexasSeth Littrell631–3131–3121–18
CharlotteWill Healy322–319–107–5
Western KentuckyTyson Helton314–1114–1110–5
RiceMike Bloomgren47–237–236–15
UTSAJeff Traylor27–57–55–2
MarshallCharles Huff10–00–00–0
Old DominionRicky Rahne20–00–00–0

Action Shots From UTEP Football's 28-21 Win Over Old Dominion

The UTEP football team rallied in the fourth quarter to defeat ODU 28-21 at the Sun Bowl Saturday night to improve to 4-1 on the season.

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