Returning to a bowl game for the first time in four years is enough in the eyes of Purdue administrators to give coach Danny Hope a contract extension in principle.
The school announced today that Hope, who just completed his third year with the Boilermakers, would be getting a two-year extension that would take him through Dec. 31, 2016. The details of the new contract in terms of Hope’s pay haven’t been released as the contract has not been finalized.
“Returning to postseason play is something we thought would happen last year, but the unbelievable and unprecedented number of injuries set us back,” Purdue AD Morgan Burke said in a statement. “The 2011 team fought its way back to the bowl scene by winning two of its final three games.”
The Boildermakers, 6-6, will be playing Western Michigan in the Little Caesar’s Bowl on Dec. 27.
“I believe this season was a step in the right direction and reinforced the positive impact of the plan that Morgan and I had when I returned to Purdue,” Hope said. “We still have ground to cover and lots of work to do in order to develop the type of physical team that performs consistently and can take on the best in the Big Ten Conference. But the first step was to help these young men get back to playing a game in late December or early January.”