NCAA News Wire
Reports: Ollie, UConn agree on five-year deal
Jeff Hawkins is an award-winning sportswriter with more than four decades in the industry (print and digital media). A freelance writer/stay-at-home dad since 2008, Hawkins started his career with newspaper stints in Michigan, North Carolina, Florida, Upstate New York and Illinois, where he earned the 2004 APSE first-place award for column writing (under 40,000 circulation). As a beat writer, he covered NASCAR Winston Cup events at NHIS (1999-2003), the NHL's Chicago Blackhawks (2003-06) and the NFL's Carolina Panthers (2011-12). Hawkins penned four youth sports books, including a Michael Jordan biography. Hawkins' main hobbies include mountain bike riding, 5k trail runs at the Whitewater Center in Charlotte, N.C., and live music.
All posts by Jeff HawkinsUpdated15 Oct 2021
Kevin Ollie likely is staying put.
The coach became a hot name on the rumor mill after leading the University of Connecticut to the NCAA Championship last month in his second year on the job. However, multiple media outlets reported Monday that Ollie and the school are on the verge of completing a five-year contract extension that would pay him approximately $3 million per year.
Ollie is just one season into a five-year, $7.5 million deal. Last season, he had a $1.25 million base salary, according to ESPN.com, but he wound up earning $1.6 million due to bonuses, the Courant reported.
The new deal would kick in with the upcoming season and would run through 2017-18, according to the Courant.
Ollie, 41, would receive a higher salary than UConn women’s coach Geno Auriemma, who earned $2.15 million including bonuses while leading his team to a ninth championship last month, the Courant reported.
A salary of $3 million a season would make Ollie one of the 10 best-paid college basketball coaches in the nation, according to the Courant.
Ollie was mentioned as a possible candidate to coach the Los Angeles Lakers after Mike D’Antoni resigned last month. Kentucky coach John Calipari and North Carolina coach Roy Williams both were rumored as candidates, too.
Ollie took over the Huskies after the retirement of Jim Calhoun, and he led the team to a 20-10 record his first season. UConn was ineligible for postseason play in 2012-13. In 2013-14, the Huskies went 32-9 and surged to the national championship despite receiving a No. 7 seed in the NCAA Tournament.
After winning the East Region by beating Michigan State in the final at New York, the Huskies topped No. 1 overall seed Florida in the national semifinals, then beat Kentucky 60-54 in the national championship game at Arlington, Texas.
