The Huskies are 5-6, but University of Washington athletics director Scott Woodward sees sufficient uptick in the football program to tack on two more years to extend his contract through 2020, the school announced Thursday morning. Petersen in December 2013 was pulled away from his highly successful tenure at Boise State by a five-year contract whose first year, at $3.2 million, made him the Pac-12 Conference’s highest-paid coach. The deal guaranteed him $18 million minimum, plus incentives. Petersen’s base compensation will remain the same in years six and seven as in the fifth year — $4 million.
Given the large number of college coaching vacancies, with more to come, the extension helps keeps predators away from Montlake.
“Coach Petersen has demonstrated tremendous integrity and is building a program that Husky fans can be proud of, both on and off the field,” Woodward said in a press release. “This extension is well-deserved and we hope Coach Petersen is a Husky for a long time to come.”
Petersen, the only two-time recipient of the Bear Bryant National Coach of the Year Award, entered the season with the highest winning percentage in the country among active NCAA-FBS coaches (minimum five years at FBS). Last season, he reached his 100th career win in his 117th game, the fifth-fewest in major college history, tied with Knute Rockne.
He was 8-6 in his first season at Washington, but his two seasons so far have produced losses equal to the total he had in eight seasons at Boise State (92-12).
The Huskies host Washington State Friday at 12:30 p.m. (FOX) in the 108th Apple Cup.
3 Comments
13-12 warrants an extension?
What. Ever.
And Ernst gets canned. Boy, that Woodward guy has got it going on.
Good move. The program needs stability, and an underrated aspect of Oregon’s ascent.
Having said that, from a layperson’s point of view the most tangible outcomes of all this TV money flooding the sport is much higher coaching salaries and new uniforms every week.
How is this benefitting the “student athlete” again?