Columbia, Mo. – The University of Missouri and Head Football
Coach Gary Pinkel have agreed to terms on a new five-year
contract that will keep Pinkel on the Tiger sideline through
the 2012 season. The new deal, as announced today by
Director of Athletics Mike Alden, comes on the heels of
Mizzou’s historic 2007 season that saw the Tigers win 11
regular-season games for the first time in school history,
and reach number one in the rankings for the first time
since 1960 (and for only the second time ever). The new deal
runs through Dec. 31, 2012, and replaces Pinkel’s previous
contract, which was set to have expired Dec. 31, 2011.
Pinkel, in his seventh year at Mizzou, has the Tigers at
11-2 currently, and playing in the Cotton Bowl for only the
second time in school history, when they take on Arkansas ,
Jan. 1, in Dallas , Texas . The only school in 2007 to
defeat two BCS bowl teams (Illinois and Kansas), Mizzou won
its first-ever Big 12 Conference North Division championship
this season under Pinkel’s direction, and those exploits won
him Big 12 co-Coach-of-the-Year accolades, as well as
runner-up Associated Press national coach of the year
honors.
The upcoming Cotton Bowl appearance will mark the program’s
fourth bowl game in the last five years under Pinkel’s
guidance. The ‘Dean’ of Big 12 North coaches, Pinkel is
48-37 at MU and 121-74-3 in 17 seasons overall, with his 48
wins ranking as third-most in MU history.
Under terms of the new agreement, Pinkel, 55, will receive a
guarantee of $1.85 million per year, including a base salary
of $280,000. The new guarantee represents an increase of
$550,000 from the previous yearly guarantee of $1.3 million,
while the base is $25,000 more than the previous figure.
“We are very pleased to make this commitment to Gary, his
staff, our kids and all of our fans of the football program
at Mizzou,” said Alden. “Winning the Big 12 North title this
season was the first championship of any kind in football in
nearly 40 years here, and we want to recognize that
achievement and put our head coach in a recruiting position
to capitalize on this momentum. Gary and his staff are very
loyal to the University, and we felt it was important to
reward that loyalty with this new agreement. Our ultimate
goal is to win a national championship at Mizzou, and by
competing for the Big 12 title each year, as we did in 2007,
we’ll have that opportunity. Gary has built his program on
class and integrity, and it was very important to the
leadership of the University to make this statement,” he
said.
“I would like to thank Mike Alden, Brady Deaton and the
University leadership for the generous support they have
given us over the years,” said Pinkel. “This is certainly an
even bigger commitment that leads to larger expectations,
and we welcome that, that’s exactly what we envisioned when
we came here. Our goal is to compete for championships, and
this show of faith is just further evidence to me that this
is the place where we can get that done, and it’s where I
want to be. I feel that the stability we have been able to
maintain on our staff has been instrumental in building this
program, and commitments like this will only help in the
long run,” he said.
“I am very proud of Coach Gary Pinkel’s leadership of MU’s
football program, and I strongly believe stability in a
program is critical to achieving long-term competitive
success,” said MU Chancellor Dr. Brady J. Deaton. “Certainly
I celebrate the team’s current achievements, but, more
important, I believe that Gary Pinkel has played a key role
in setting a tone of excellence in all aspects of the
program that contributes to MU’s overall reputation in the
nation,” said Deaton.
