Head coach Kevin Ollie signed a five-year, $15 million contract to stay with Connecticut, the school announced Thursday.
Ollie led UConn to an unexpected national championship this season despite a No. 7 seed in the NCAA Tournament. His new deal will pay him $2.8 million in his first year and his salary will increase by $100,000 in each of the following four seasons.
The deal also includes additional incentives each season that pay him more for winning conference championships, making the NCAA Tournament and advancing to the Sweet 16 and beyond. The contract will pay Ollie more than double the $1.25 million salary he received this season.
Ollie took over the UConn program after Hall of Fame coach Jim Calhoun retired in September 2012. His original contract was only seven months long, but three months later he was given a five-year contract that this new five-year deal will replace.
“I’m very pleased that we were able to agree to a new contract and that we’ll be able to continue to build upon the success we’ve had,” Ollie said in a statement. “It’s a humbling experience to be around the UConn fans and the UConn family and to know that I am their basketball coach for the foreseeable future. I’m very proud of that.
"UConn is a place that I love and as I’ve told everyone throughout the season and through all the recent speculation, this is where my heart is. This is where I wanted to be."
After UConn's run to a national title, Ollie became connected to the Los Angeles Lakers' open coaching position. He later refuted via Twitter that he had any meetings with the Lakers' leadership.
