Payroll Project: Ohio State paid 18 employees more than $1 million in 2018

Editor’s note: The Dayton Daily News is gathering payroll data for local governments across our region, as well as state government and public colleges, as part of our Payroll Project. You can search Payroll Project data here. We are gathering payroll data for 2018 and will add it to the database as it is collected. If you have a suggestion for our Payroll Project, email reporter Max Filby at max.filby@coxinc.com.

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Athletics employees were many of the highest paid positions at Ohio State University in 2018, according to new data for the Dayton Daily News Payroll Project, a searchable database of public employees.

At more than $5.1 million, former football coach Urban Meyer earned more money than any other Ohio State employee last year. Men’s basketball coach Chris Holtmann made the second most of any OSU employee, bringing in more than $2.8 million in 2018, data shows.

Former assistant football coach Greg Schiano earned over $1.7 million to be Ohio State’s third highest-paid employee while Meyer’s successor Ryan Day earned more than $1.6 million, making him the fourth best paid employee.

Local governments and colleges make payroll with your tax money, which is why the Dayton Daily News has assembled and made available a searchable database of pay for public employees making $50,000 a year or more. Though it is a public institution, Ohio State’s athletics program is self-sustaining and its employees are not paid through tax dollars.

Ohio State paid 20,466 employees more than $50,000 last year, according to the payroll project.

The highest-paid non-athletics employee was Mark Larmore, vice president of health services, who earned $1.5 million. OSU president Michael Drake was the 10th best paid employee in 2018, earning more than $1.1 million.

Altogether, Ohio State paid 18 employees over $1 million last year, data shows. To see how much the rest of Ohio State's employees earned in 2018, check out the Dayton Daily News Payroll Project.

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