FORT COLLINS — Colorado State on Monday confirmed that football coach Jim McElwain, women’s basketball coach Ryun Williams and volleyball coach Tom Hilbert all had agreed to new deals with the university.
In his statement after his Friday firing, former athlethic director Jack Graham cited among his accomplishments agreeing to contract extensions with McElwain, Williams and Hilbert, plus a previously disclosed new deal with men’s basketball coach Larry Eustachy.
The Monday announcements, made separately but simultaneously, confirmed those new deals.
CSU said that McElwain, who is about to begin his third season with the Rams and originally was operating under a five-year contract, had agreed to a new five-year deal that takes him through 2018. His base salary increases from $1.35 million to $1.5 million. McElwain’s buyout increases to $7.5 million.
The Rams were 4-8 under McElwain in 2012, then 8-6 last season, winning the New Mexico Bowl with a major comeback against Washington State. McElwain previously was the offensive coordinator at Alabama for four seasons, winding up in Tuscaloosa after stays as an assistant at Fresno State, Michigan State, Louisville, Montana State and Eastern Washington — with a one-season stint with the NFL’s Oakland Raiders thrown in there.
After the Rams’ Monday morning practice, McElwain said: “First and foremost, Colorado State University’s a great place.” He praised the leadership of president Tony Frank and the school’s board of governors. “For (wife) Karen and I, this is home,” he added.
McElwain also cited the other coaches whose new deals were announced. “This is a great place,” he said. “The vision hasn’t changed. This is a place to call home.”
Asked about the $7.5 million buyout, McElwain said with tongue in cheek: “The way I look at that, maybe the only chance we have is maybe Bill Gates hiring me.”
He turned serious and said, “It’s flattering and it’s really positive that we can get the support of this campus and this town and up and down the front range.”
He paused, then smiled and asked: “Is that how much it is?”
Last week, the NCAA board of directors approved virtual autonomy for the five “power” leagues, which could lead to widening gulfs between those leagues and those outside that realm — including CSU’s Mountain West Conference.
Did any of that give McElwain pause before making his commitment?
“It doesn’t,” McElwain said. “What I mean by that is, guys, I really think that within this next five years, there’s going to be some different things happening. I feel really good about the direction we’re headed at Colorado State, our vision moving forward. We’ll play ’em and we’ll figure out a way to go. I can’t tell you how excited my wife and I are to know we’re home.”
Interim athletic director John Morris said in the statement announcing McElwain’s new deal: “Jim McElwain has breathed new life into our football program. “Last season’s exhilarating come-from-behind victory in the New Mexico Bowl illustrated all of the positive attributes McElwain and his staff have infused in their student-athletes—the perseverance to never give up and the unique bond to support one another on every play. That was a moment that all Rams fans are extremely proud of, and it provided a glimpse of where this program is headed.”
In women’s basketball, Williams’ extension takes him through 2018-19, but the final five seasons are a series of one-year options that can be triggered by either CSU or Williams. His base salary will be $215,000, and the deal also includes several bonus clauses, beginning with $25,000 for a Mountain West Conference championship.
In volleyball, Hilbert’s new agreement, also with a series of one-year extensions that kick in annually after the second year, takes him through the 2018 season, pays him $200,000 annually and his deal for the first time includes a buyout clause — set at $1 million. Previously, Hilbert was coaching under a three-year deal that rolled over annually, leaving him with three years remaining. He made $154,000 in 2013.
Terry Frei: tfrei@denverpost.com or twitter.com/tfrei
