University of Hawaii athletic director Jim Donovan’s salary ranks near the bottom for the position in both the Western Athletic and Mountain West conferences, based upon a USA Today survey this week.

Donovan’s contracted salary is $240,000 and with a 5 percent voluntary pay cut that many UH executives agreed to in July, he is currently receiving $228,000.

According to the USA Today survey of NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision schools, that ranks Donovan seventh among the eight WAC members and will put him eighth among 10 MWC ADs within the group UH joins next year as a football-only member.

Utah State’s Scott Barnes leads the WAC at $298,375, while athletic directors at San Jose State and Nevada each topped $277,000, according to USAToday figures. Idaho’s Rob Spear had the lowest salary, $184,988.

The MWC is led by New Mexico’s Paul Krebs at $408,391 and Nevada-Las Vegas’ Jim Livengood at $350,000.

Donovan said, "I really appreciate the fact that I have the opportunity to lead something that is so important to our whole state. As far as salary is concerned, I don’t have any comment. I’m just grateful for the experience and the opportunity."

The WAC average is $252,068, while the average for the nine other schools that will make up the MWC when UH joins next year is $275,115. ADs average about $450,000 per year at marquee schools, USAToday reported.

Athletic directors in the Big West, which UH will join in most sports other than football in 2012, had an average salary of $177,326 in 2010. Only two of the nine schools, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo and UC Davis, have football teams and none are on the FBS level.

Donovan’s contract runs to March 2013.