Minnesota basketball coach Tubby Smith has agreed to terms on a three-year contract extension that will keep him with the Golden Gophers through the 2016-17 season.
Minnesota And Tubby Smith Agree To Contract Extension
Despite a somewhat disappointing first five seasons at Minnesota, Tubby Smith has agreed to a contract extension that will keep him with the Golden Gophers through the 2016-17 season.
Presswire
Terms of the deal weren’t immediately available. Smith had two years remaining on his original contract, which was for seven years and approximately $1.8 million annually.
“Tubby took over our program at a difficult time and quickly got it headed back in the right direction, both athletically and academically,” Minnesota athletic director Norwood Teague said in a statement. “Since then, Gopher basketball has continued to make strides under his leadership with four postseason appearances, including last year’s exciting run to the NIT title game. I look forward to working with Coach Smith into the future to help lift Gopher basketball to even greater heights.”
Expectations were high when Smith took over the program - still recovering from probation after a 1999 academic fraud scandal - in 2007. Since then he has led Minnesota to just two NCAA Tournament appearances, zero NCAA Tournament victories and a disappointing 38-52 mark in Big Ten play.
“I believe that we can get the job done here,” Smith said in a statement. “The commitment from the university is there to continue to grow the program, and I am looking forward to being a part of that.”
Minnesota finished 6-12 in Big Ten play last season and missed the NCAA Tournament for a second consecutive year. They did, however, make a run to the NIT championship game and finished the season with 23 wins, the most of any Gopher team in 22 years.
For more on this story, be sure to visit The Daily Gopher and SB Nation Minnesota
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