MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — West Virginia and iconic basketball coach Bob Huggins have agreed to a four-year extension, which will take his salary above $4 million annually.
The new contract would keep him coaching through age 69 and leaves in place an end-of-deal emeritus option for Huggins to move into a fundraising and public relations role.
READ: Bob Huggins’ new contract
Huggins could defer his emeritus term and continue coaching beyond the 2022 season with a mutual agreement between Huggins and the athletics director Shane Lyons.
Slated to earn $3.75 million this season, Huggins’ revised contract calls for annual raises of $100,000, creating this salary schedule:
— $3.85M in 2018-19
— $3.95M in 2019-20
— $4.05M in 2020-21
— $4.15M in 2021-22
With an 819-330 career record on the cusp of his 36th season, Huggins is the NCAA’s third-winningest active coach and eighth all-time in Division I. His 229-118 mark over 10 years at West Virginia includes eight NCAA tournament bids, four Sweet 16s and the 2010 Final Four run.
The Mountaineers, ranked 11th in the AP preseason poll, depart Tuesday for Germany where they will face Texas A&M in Friday’s opener.
The new contract no longer lists the $25,000 bonus for beating Kansas in the regular season, a clause that earned Huggins $100,000 over the past four years when West Virginia won every matchup in Morgantown.
Among the incentives moving forward, Huggins will receive:
— $40,000 for a regular-season Big 12 title
— $30,000 for a runner-up finish, scaling down to $10,000 for fourth place
— $200,000 for a national championship and $100,00 for a Final Four berth
— $20,000 for an NCAA bid scaling up to $40,000 for an Elite Eight berth
— $30,000 for winning Big 12 coach of the year
— $50,000 for winning national coach of the year (NABC or AP)
— $10,000 to $20,000 for meeting APR and team GPA benchmarks