College Coach Expense Reports: Bob Stoops, University of Oklahoma

Using state public records laws, VICE Sports obtained expense reports filed by several public university head football coaches. In this occasional series, we will highlight some of the expenses filed by some of America's highest-paid university employees. Today, we take a look at University of Oklahoma football coach Bob Stoops.

Bob Stoops may have the sweetest contract in college sports this side of Nick Saban's deal with the devil. In addition to $5.2 million in guaranteed money for 2014—a salary that has only increased since, with a guaranteed annual raise of $150,000—the university provides two cars (plus pays the insurance), country club membership, 20 tickets to every home football game and a suite, and 45 hours of private jet use every year.

Today, we are going to focus on the private jet, which he doesn't have to use for business-related activities. Stoops gets 45 hours of private plane time every year, regardless of purpose or cost—no ifs, ands, or buts. The university pays for the plane's rental, the pilot time and expenses (the customer is often responsible for the pilot's hourly fee and any necessary meals or hotel accommodations), hangar fees, fuel, and any other incidentals.

Since 2011, Stoops has either written personal checks or used a credit card to pay for the accompanying costs, and then filed for reimbursement at the end of the year. The amounts vary, but in 2012 the university paid $196,243 for Stoops' private flights. In 2013, the university paid $221,118 for his private plane usage. Prior to those years, the amounts were closer to $100,000. Here's the breakdown for 2013:

And how it compares to 2014 and 2015:

For those keeping score, that's $670,638.03 over a three-year period for Stoops' private flights. Why the roughly doubling in cost from 2013 on? The university switched to a new private plane company, Sentient Jet, which has an email signature identifying itself as the "Official Private Jet Partner of Aspen/Snowmass, the PGA TOUR and the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association" and boasts that it is "a sophisticated, flexible alternative to owning a jet."

Averaging out the cost of Stoops' private flights over that same span, that comes to $1,894.46 per player on the Oklahoma football team per season (it would, of course, be a lot more per player that actually met a basic playing time threshold, but no need to get crazy here).

Stoops doesn't have to list a business purpose for the trip, because it's a contractual obligation the university must provide, whether he's going on a recruiting trip or taking the family on vacation to Florida, or Telluride, or Cabo San Lucas (three real trips Stoops expensed to the university). The Florida trip, for example, cost the university $16,873.93.

There were some instances Stoops wasn't even on the plane himself. Here's a trip from October 18, 2011, when his brother, Mike, now the Sooners defensive coordinator, took "two children" to Dallas for the day (this was eight days after Mike was fired from his head-coaching job at the University of Arizona).

And the August 13-15, 2012, trip where the only passenger listed is "Mrs. Stoops," along with an email soliciting payment with a note from the pilot, "Thanks again for allowing my granddaughter to go along." (Of course, the Stoops would never be able to have anyone on the football team or a member of their families "go along" on the plane—that would be a NCAA violation.)

Despite these costs, the catering on the flights is not nearly as opulent as I expected. Here is a pretty representative sample:

Turkey sandwiches and a fruit platter? That's what you get in Delta economy.

In 2013, when asked about paying players, Stoops told reporters, "I tell my guys all the time you're not the first one to spend a hungry Sunday without any money."

Eleven days later, Stoops got on a private plane for 2.8 hours of engine time and billed the university for the $13,256.25 cost, roughly half of the school's out-of-state tuition, room, board, and books expenses for that academic year. The receipt doesn't say where he flew. It didn't have to.

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