Earlier today it was reported that Arizona State had reached an agreement on a contract extension and raise for head football coach Todd Graham. Apparently, the Sun Devils’ hated in-state rivals have responded in kind.
According to Doug Haller of the Arizona Republic, Arizona has agreed to a new contract for its head football coach, Rich Rodriguez, as well as athletic director Greg Byrne and its men’s basketball coach. UA regents are expected to approve the new contracts in early June.
Rodriguez’s new deal was extended by two years and now runs through May 31, 2019. Additionally, Haller writes, "[t]he proposed extension would increase the football coach’s annual base salary of $1.33 million to $1.5 million,” which would “then... increase $100,000 every June 1 through 2018, when it would reach $1.9 million.”
In 2013, Rodriguez’s total pay of $2.15 million placed him ninth in among 11 head coaches in the Pac-12; as a private institution, Stanford is not required to divulge David Shaw‘s salary, although that would certainly be at least double of Rodriguez’s. He could, however, potentially pass Washington State’s Mike Leach ($2.25 million) in the conference pay pecking order.
Graham, for what it’s worth, was fifth in total pay among league coaches in 2013.
In his two seasons with the Wildcats, Rodriguez has posted back-to-back 8-5 seasons. It’s just the second time the past 15 seasons -- 2008-09 being the other -- that the Wildcats have posted at least 16 total wins in consecutive years.