The University of Minnesota announced Friday head football coach Jerry Kill signed a one-year contract extension to keep him under contract with the Gophers until 2019.
The extension provides Kill with a annual $300,000 raise in supplemental compensation throughout the length of his contract. Kill will now make $2.5 million in 2015, and his earnings total will rise $100,000 annually until he makes $2.9 million in 2019.
The extension comes at a time of upheaval in the athletics department, with former athletics director Norwood Teague resigning last Friday after two complaints of sexual harassment.
“It makes you a lot more relaxed where you can coach,” Kill said of the extension. “We’ve had a lot of different situations that we’re going through right now but I’ve got complete confidence in our president.”
Kill, who was named the Big Ten coach of the year last season after leading the Gophers to a second consecutive 8-5 record and the program’s first New Year’s Day Bowl game since 1962, said he talked with University President Eric Kaler after Teague’s resignation, as well an interim athletics director Beth Goetz and senior associate athletic director Dan O’Brien.
Kill said his wife Rebecca also played a large role in his decision to sign the extension, but Kaler was a main factor.
“The reason I did it is because of President Kaler. Period,” Kill said. “And some donors that came [to talk] to me and reached out to me.”
Kill said he still anticipates construction on the University’s new football facilities to move along as scheduled in late September or early October after the Board of Regents vote on the plan in their September meeting.
The board was originally supposed to vote on the facilities plan in June, but the vote was delayed due to the University searching for a new location to house track and field. Kill said the plans for the football building also needed a few “little things” added to make sure nothing was left out.
“We’re going to get it done,” Kills said. “I think there’s a couple simple things that have got to get taken care of and [from] everything I understand we’re right on target.”
UPDATE: This blog post was updated at approximately 2:31 p.m. on August 14th to include the details of the contract extension.
