Following last year’s Camellia Bowl-winning season, UB Football (3-9, 3-5 MAC) failed to live up to their promise for the 2023 season. The Bulls’ 3-9 record this season was the worst UB football has had since 2016, when they went 2-10. UB didn’t have another losing season after 2016 until 2021, when head coach Lance Leipold left for the University of Kansas and was replaced by Maurice Linguist. Under Leipold (2017-2020), UB won more games (30) than any other team in the Mid-American Conference (MAC).
But despite his second losing season in three years, head coach Maurice Linguist is slated to return next season and continue raking in a comfortable six-figure salary.
There may be a list of things that “Coach Mo” did and didn’t do well this season, but the fact of the matter is that he is getting paid.
Linguist officially became the head coach for UB’s football team on May 10, 2021. The employment contract he signed keeps him employed for five football seasons, until Dec. 31, 2025. In 2022, he signed a contract extension for one more year, now expiring in 2026. His record with UB stands at 14-23.
According to USA Today, Linguist made $684,500 in 2023. This makes him the fourth-highest-paid football coach in the MAC. His contract also lists opportunities for increases in pay, fringe benefits and additional compensation.
Linguist’s base annual salary is $475,000 per year. But he earns an additional $200,000 “because of his availability to participate in television, radio, internet, shoe and/or apparel, consulting, marketing, fundraising and other services,” his contract states.
He is also awarded an “automobile allowance” of $400 per month (which doesn’t cover fuel expenses because the university covers that separately), and is entitled to “retain monies or benefits specifically articulated for the football program in agreements between shoe, apparel or equipment manufacturers or sellers and the University.”
Additionally, Coach Mo gets paid for winning games, including a $15,000 bonus for eight wins, $20,000 for nine wins, $25,000 for 10 wins, $30,000 for 11 wins and $35,000 for 12 wins. He has yet to achieve the eight wins necessary for the minimum bonus in his UB coaching career.
He also receives bonuses for getting into the MAC Championship and into a bowl game; if UB won the MAC Championship, he would earn $35,000. UB has yet to qualify for a MAC Championship game under Linguist.
Linguist did, however, bring UB to the Camellia Bowl game — and won — last year, leading him to a $60,000 bonus.
Coach Mo is still under contract for three more seasons. So far, for the 14 games he’s won, he’s earned $2,104,000 from salary and bonuses, and that’s excluding any additional compensation listed in his contract. UB football is months from its next game, but the Bulls look to get back on track and earn their first MAC Championship since 2008.
Ricardo Castillo is the senior sports editor and can be reached at ricardo.castillo@ubspectrum.com
