The University of Kentucky has agreed to a contract extension with coach Mark Stoops that will keep him at the reins of the Wildcats football program through June 2031, announced Monday, Nov 21. Stoops will earn nine million annually with his new contract.
Stoops was hired before the 2013 season, replacing Joker Phillips, and finished 2-10 in his debut season. The Wildcats have enjoyed an upward climb since with seven straight bowl appearances. High points for Stoops have included 10-win seasons in 2018 and 2021, both of which culminated into Citrus Bowl wins.
Though the Wildcats are 6-5 in what has been a disappointing season to early preseason expectations, Stoops is nevertheless the program’s winningest coach at 65-58 in 10 years.
“The continuity we’ve had has been crucial to our growth and is even more important as we move forward,” Stoops told CBS Sports. “I wanted to reaffirm my commitment. I’ve loved it here and am excited about our future.”
Stoops inherited a program that typically acted as a place-holder for UK fans until the start of the men’s basketball season. A decade later, he elevated the Wildcats into consistent winning football, finishing no worse than fourth in their division since 2014. This season has definitely fallen short of what fans were hoping as the Wildcats have lost five of their last seven games following a 4-0 start.
With this contract, it creates a new market for coaches. The Southeastern Conference (SEC) knows that it is going to be hefty with money when the new TV contract comes into play in a couple of years from now, which means that the short-term financial loss doesn’t sting compared to the sweet conditioning coming to the SEC.
