Shut up.

Those were two of the words of advice Jim Calhoun, the head coach of the University of Connecticut men’s basketball team, offered for a reporter who asked if Calhoun thought he made too much money.

However, it is an interesting question posed by reporter Ken Krayeske. Do college coaches get paid too much money in light of the current economy? In this sports enthusiast’s opinion, they do not.

Even with the current economy I think many coaches get paid around the right amount, which varies between the middle six figures and low seven figures for the most part.

It is evident that they are making a very nice living for themselves on that salary, but I believe they deserve it.

When you look at the situation, it makes sense to me to pay someone that much money. For many schools, athletics bring in a great amount of revenue, much more than the coach’s salary.

In Calhoun’s explosion, which can be found on YouTube, he states that while he makes more than $1.5 million a year and is the highest paid state employee in Connecticut, UConn basketball brings in more than $12 million to the university each year.

Beyond one’s coaching responsibilities, coaches serve as an ambassador for the university and spread the school’s name. For instance, imagine Duke University without basketball or the University of Nebraska without football. Let’s be honest, college sports are nice and fun for athletes and spectators alike, but they are also a business. I’m willing to bet that Duke University would not be as popular without coach Mike Krzyzewski. The same goes for coach Tom Osborne at Nebraska, and maybe even for our very own Dana Altman.

While it is certainly a stretch to throw Altman’s name out there with the Krzyzewskis and Osbornes of the world, he too has had a very large effect on our university. His effect goes much deeper than the nights at Qwest Center Omaha where 16,000 or more people fill up the arena.

Each time coach Altman has led the Bluejays into the NCAA tournament (seven times), the school receives a very large paycheck. The last time the Jays made the NCAA tournament in 2007, the university cashed a check worth $1.5 million.

If you’re still skeptical that college sports don’t have a large impact on universities as a whole, I invite you to call Jim Larranaga, the head coach of George Mason University who led his Patriots on a wild ride to the final four in 2006. Since that incredible run, admissions at GMU are up 20 percent, there has been a $3.6 million increase in new gifts and the overall scholarship fund nearly tripled.

While I believe we can justify the large salaries many college coaches make by pointing at the revenue they bring in for their university, they shouldn’t be let off the hook. If we are trusting coaches to be paid so highly and become some of the biggest ambassadors for their school, they should conduct their job appropriately, i.e. Bobby Knight.

Part of their responsibilities should be bringing in quality student-athletes that will continue to adequately represent their university.

In my opinion, these salaries make perfect sense because many of the coaches that make these large amounts of money are in the top 2 percent of their field. In any field the top 2 percent usually tend to make a nice salary.

Coaching is just like any other profession. If one does it well, or really well in Calhoun’s case, they will get paid accordingly. If one does it poorly, they stand to lose their job. Unless you’re Frank Solich, who got fired after going 9-3 at Nebraska, then coaching becomes unlike any profession, where doing well doesn’t secure your job.