SALT LAKE CITY — College sports are big business. Extremely big business. So big that in almost every state in the Union, a coach is the highest-paid public employee.

In 27 states, a football coach is the top-paid public servant, while a college basketball coach was the highest-paid in another 13.

Deadspin writer Reuben Fischer-Baum compiled a list of top-paid employees from state databases and news stories and slapped together an infographic that neatly outlines who's on top when it comes to taxpayer-supported compensation. While a few medical school teachers and college presidents could be seen here and there, and one hockey coach in New Hampshire, basketball and football coaches reigned supreme in compensation.

The same is true of Utah, where the Utes head coach Kyle Whittingham made $1,949,790 in gross compensation in 2012, according to Utah's Right to Know, including salary and benefits compensation. That makes him the highest-paid public employee in the state. The only other employees coming close are other coaches and doctors at the university's medical school.

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Using data from an ESPN database of major college athletics programs, Fischer-Baum pointed out that schools may lose money on their sports teams even while many assume that they are quite profitable, depending on how one counts the numbers. Universities often provide teams with millions of dollars from either student fees or other university sources. When those two sources of income aren't counted, the teams end up looking like they are in the red.

In the case of the University of Utah, data from the same ESPN database shows that sports teams took in roughly $38.1 million in revenue from July 2010 to June 2011, with $10.3 million coming from ticket sales, the largest source of income. But about $9.4 million in revenue came from student fees and subsidies, making it a close second. Donations and contributions ranked third at $7.6 million.

Based on numbers from ESPN, the U. took in $38,091,538 from all sources and spent $36,846,478. But, indeed, once money from the university and student fees are removed, the athletics programs were behind by $8,136,507.

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University of Utah athletics department chief financial officer Steve Smith acknowledged that posting a profit without support from the school would be difficult. He said that even with money from student fees and the university, they still posted a "significant" loss from 2011-2012.

"The student fees are vital to our non-revenue sports. Without them, it would be impossible to operate," Smith said.

Nevertheless, he said athletics are an important part of college life and the athletics department tries hard to provide a good experience for students and athletes.

"We definitely appreciate the support we receive from the university and appreciate the support we do receive from the students," he said. "And we hope that everyone can participate and really benefit from athletics here on campus."

Infographic via Reuben Fischer-Baum at Deadspin

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