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West Virginia's Rodriguez gets contract extension Associated Press


MORGANTOWN, W.Va. -- West Virginia coach Rich Rodriguez received a three-year contract extension Saturday that will pay him at least $1 million a year.

The contract, which runs through the 2012 season, includes an additional $100,000 per year in deferred compensation that Rodriguez can collect in December 2011 if he remains head coach of the Mountaineers.

Rodriguez led the Mountaineers to their third straight Big East title last season, and a surprising 38-35 victory over Georgia 38-35 in the Sugar Bowl.

West Virginia finished the season No. 5 in the country, tying the 1988 team for the Mountaineers' best final ranking.

"This new agreement recognizes the job that Rich has done at WVU," West Virginia athletic director Ed Pastilong said. "He has had great success during the past three years and we look forward to Rich coaching for his alma mater for a long time."

Rodriguez will have a base salary of $150,000, the same as a contract he signed in late 2002. There also is $850,000 in guaranteed promotional income through radio, television, Internet, endorsements and Mountaineer Athletic Club appearances. There will be compensation increases each year.

Additional income can be earned through summer camps and incentives including graduation rates, team grade-point averages, bowl appearances, Big East championships and season-ticket sales, Pastilong said.

Two issues that Rodriguez wanted addressed also were in the agreement -- salary increases for assistant football coaches and plans to renovate the team's athletic building, the Milan Puskar Center. The renovation plans, including the study center and locker rooms, are contingent on support from private fundraisers, the university said.

"The success of our football program has been a team effort of the players, coaching staff, administration and fans," Pastilong said. "It will take a continuation of that effort as we move forward to secure funding for the Puskar Center renovations."

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