Steve Berkowitz

USA TODAY Sports

Months after a 2013 regular season in which his team went undefeated before losing the Big Ten Conference championship game and the Orange Bowl, Ohio State coach Urban Meyer received a nearly $330,000 pay raise, according to a document obtained this week by USA TODAY Sports.

The increase moved Meyer's basic annual compensation from the school to nearly $4.5 million and likely puts him among the five most highly paid public-school football coaches in terms of yearly pay. Alabama's Nick Saban, Oklahoma's Bob Stoops, Texas' Charlie Strong and Texas A&M's Kevin Sumlin are all making at least $5 million annually.

Meyer's raise reflected an 8% increase to his base salary; his pay for media, promotions and public relations; and his pay in connection with Ohio State's shoe, apparel and equipment deal with Nike, according to a letter to the coach from athletics director Gene Smith. The letter, dated March 25, said the increases were based on Smith's recommendations.

Because Meyer's compensation package exceeds $350,000, the raise had to be approved by several top officials, including the university president, according to a policy posted on the university's web site. Joseph Alutto was serving as Ohio State's interim president at the time of Meyer's raise; Michael Drake became the president June 30.

A copy of Meyer's raise letter was provided by the university's legal affairs office as part of its response to an open-records request. The letter said Meyer's raise became effective Feb. 1, which was the first day of his 2014-15 contract year.

Meyer previously received a 4% raise at the beginning of his 2013-14 contract year. Excluding bonuses for team performance, he ended that year with total compensation from the school of just over $4.6 million -- but $450,000 of that was a payment he received for completing the first two-plus years of a contract that runs slightly more than six years.

Meyer will receive a $750,000 payment if he is the Buckeyes' head coach on Jan. 31, 2016, and another $1.2 million if he is the head coach on Jan. 31, 2018.

Prior to last season's Big Ten title game, Meyer had a 24-0 record as Ohio State's coach. But the team ended the season on a two-game losing streak.

This season, the Buckeyes are 7-1 and ranked No. 11 in the Amway Coaches Poll going into Saturday night's game at No. 6 Michigan State.