kepdawg
08-11-2006, 11:58 PM
Tech's Leach in Big 12 elite after signing new deal
11:22 PM CDT on Friday, August 11, 2006
By KEITH WHITMIRE / The Dallas Morning News
Texas Tech football coach Mike Leach signed a contract extension Friday that will pay him an average of $2 million a year and put him in the top tier of Big 12 coaching salaries.
The new contract extends Leach's commitment to 2010, or one year more than his previous contract.
Leach will be paid $1.6 million in 2006, with incremental increases to $2.15 million in 2010. In addition, Leach will be paid an $800,000 bonus at the end of the 2009 season and a $200,000 bonus after 2010.
Leach is 48-28 after six seasons at Tech. He's taken the Red Raiders to six consecutive bowls.
Leach did not return a phone message Friday night, but athletic director Gerald Myers said the new contract reflects both the current market for coaches and the university's satisfaction with Leach's performance.
"We're excited that he's our coach, and we want him to be our coach a long time," Myers said. "It's a reward for what he and his staff have done."
The contract includes a $500,000 buyout, which Leach has never had before. However, Myers said the $1 million in bonuses the last two years of the contract may be even more of an incentive for Leach to remain in Lubbock.
Texas' Mack Brown is believed to be the Big 12's highest-paid coach at $2.559 million a year. Oklahoma's Bob Stoops will be paid about $2.5 million in 2006, and Texas A&M's Dennis Franchione makes $2 million a year.
E-mail kwhitmire@dallasnews.com
11:22 PM CDT on Friday, August 11, 2006
By KEITH WHITMIRE / The Dallas Morning News
Texas Tech football coach Mike Leach signed a contract extension Friday that will pay him an average of $2 million a year and put him in the top tier of Big 12 coaching salaries.
The new contract extends Leach's commitment to 2010, or one year more than his previous contract.
Leach will be paid $1.6 million in 2006, with incremental increases to $2.15 million in 2010. In addition, Leach will be paid an $800,000 bonus at the end of the 2009 season and a $200,000 bonus after 2010.
Leach is 48-28 after six seasons at Tech. He's taken the Red Raiders to six consecutive bowls.
Leach did not return a phone message Friday night, but athletic director Gerald Myers said the new contract reflects both the current market for coaches and the university's satisfaction with Leach's performance.
"We're excited that he's our coach, and we want him to be our coach a long time," Myers said. "It's a reward for what he and his staff have done."
The contract includes a $500,000 buyout, which Leach has never had before. However, Myers said the $1 million in bonuses the last two years of the contract may be even more of an incentive for Leach to remain in Lubbock.
Texas' Mack Brown is believed to be the Big 12's highest-paid coach at $2.559 million a year. Oklahoma's Bob Stoops will be paid about $2.5 million in 2006, and Texas A&M's Dennis Franchione makes $2 million a year.
E-mail kwhitmire@dallasnews.com