COLLEGE PARK - University of Maryland men's basketball coach Gary Williams officially has gotten his wish and his raise.
More than seven months after guiding the Maryland Terrapins to the first national championship in school history and less than two weeks before beginning his 14th season in College Park, Williams has agreed to a seven-year contract that extends his previous deal by one year and will keep him at Maryland through the 2008-2009 season.
Terms of the deal, which follows a seven-year extension he signed after leading the Terps to their first Final Four in 2001, were not disclosed. Sources familiar with the negotiations between Maryland athletic director Debbie Yow and Williams representative Ron Shapiro said Williams will earn an annual average of nearly $1.3 million in guaranteed compensation plus incentives that could add up to $500,000 to the package.
"I wanted to get it done before the season. I appreciate what the school has done," said Williams, whose team has earned a preseason ranking of No. 13 by the Associated Press and begins the defense of its NCAA title on Nov. 24 against Miami (Ohio) at the Comcast Center, its new on-campus arena.
"After 14 years, it's nice to be able to have roots in your area. To be able to finish [his coaching career] here, that has become important to me," added Williams, 57, who is a 1968 graduate of Maryland. "I wanted practice to start, so I could see how I felt about coaching. I got that old feeling again, like this is where you're supposed to be. I still feel very energized about coaching."
Yow and Shapiro initiated contract talks in the spring, continued them sporadically during the summer, before discussions intensified early in the school year. The two sides have been close to an agreement for the past several weeks.
"It certainly is a satisfying experience, to work as hard and long as we did to get the coach and the university to agree on a contract that should take [Williams] close to the end of his career," Shapiro said.
Williams' annual pay will come in the form of a combination of a base salary, apparel endorsement deals, radio and TV appearances, a car stipend, and an annual annuity investment to be paid out by the school at the end of his employment. He also collects income from his summer basketball camps and incentive monies based on the competitive and academic achievements of his program.
"Although the negotiations were lengthy, the fact is everyone is pleased with the end," Yow said.
Williams coached for a combined 11 seasons at American, Boston College and Ohio State before coming to Maryland in 1989. He has an overall record of 481-271 and is 274-143 at Maryland, and has taken the Terps to back-to-back Final Fours and to the NCAA tournament's Sweet 16 round in six of the past nine straight years the Terps have been to the national tournament.
Williams has nearly doubled his guaranteed income over the past two years. The deal he signed in 2001 was to pay him a yearly average of nearly $1.1 million. He was making about $675,000 in guarantees before going to his first Final Four.