Utah State sports fans have long agonized over how their school has been a way station for coaches.
Maybe now they can relax.The school has announced the re-signing of basketball coach Stew Morrill to a contract extension that runs through the 2007-08 season.
"It gives us some stability. We hear from our fans all the time about instability in coaches. This gives us stability in a very high-profile, important position," USU athletic director Rance Pugmire said Wednesday. "I'm confident he'll be here through the extent of his contract, through the extent of his career."
Morrill is in the third year of his original five-year contract, and the new deal adds five more years. The man who produced an NCAA Tournament berth, Big West Conference Tournament championship, a 19-game win streak that was the nation's longest and an unbeaten (16-0) league slate in what was supposed to be a rebuilding year will be paid a base salary of $143,000 starting this season.
The deal was finally done on Thursday, just in time for the Aggie basketball banquet that night, and it took this long only because Morrill has been away from campus recruiting and such or administrators were gone when Morrill was available to talk.
Pugmire said the dialogue was "sharing ideas. We pretty much agreed on a number of things, and it was just a matter of crossing Ts and dotting Is."
Morrill is 43-19 in two seasons as USU coach and was named Big West Conference Coach of the Year this season after winning an Aggie-record 28 games against six losses in a season that started with just three lettermen and eight new players. The 19-0 run finally was ended by then-defending NCAA champion Connecticut in the first round of the Birmingham, Ala., NCAA regional.
The team had just one senior, Troy Rolle.
Pugmire said the contract has a buyout clause after three years, but he points out that Morrill was approached earlier this spring about the University of Houston job vacated by former NBA star Clyde Drexler. It supposedly paid $400,000 a year. "And (Morrill) didn't have any interest," Pugmire said.
"I said when I came to Utah State that this would very possibly be my last coaching stop," Morrill said. "We will do everything possible to make all Aggies proud of our basketball program."
Morrill is a native of Provo and has often said that being close to his family is good reason to remain at Utah State.
You can reach Linda Hamilton by e-mail at lham@desnews.com