Following up on reports from Monday that were four months or more in the making, Northwestern’s Pat Fitzgerald is officially on the receiving end of a shiny new deal.
In a release issued by the school early Tuesday morning, it was announced that Fitzgerald and the school “have consummated a new 10-year contract.” It’s a 10-year deal that could technically keep Fitzgerald with the Wildcats through the 2010 season.
As Northwestern is a private university, no terms of the deal were released, although it’s safe to say that Fitzgerald received a significant raise over the terms of a deal that was extended in 2009, the terms of which weren’t released then either.
“I’m humbled and appreciative of the commitment shown by Northwestern,” said Fitzgerald in a statement. “With this support from our administration, our coaches and players expect to compete for championships.”
In his five seasons in Evanston, Fitzgerald has compiled a 34-29 mark and led the Wildcats to bowl eligibility each of the past four seasons.
“It is paramount for Northwestern football to have great leadership,” said athletic director Jim Phillips. “There is no better individual to lead Chicago’s Big Ten Team than Pat. He is a tremendous teacher, and truly values developing young men athletically, academically and socially. Our football program is having unprecedented success—on the football field, in the classroom and in the community—and that is due to Pat’s outstanding leadership.
“Northwestern is committed to giving our football program all the necessary resources to do tremendous things on and off the field. We certainly are excited to receive the results from our Master Facility Plan that will help direct the next steps regarding our athletic facilities.
“Throughout this entire process, we continue to be grateful for the terrific leadership and support of President Schapiro, Bill Osborn, the Chair of our Board of Trustees and Pat Ryan, the former Chair.”
In addition to his tenure as the Wildcats’ head coach, Fitzgerald was also a two-time All-American linebacker at NU. He’s also the only two-time winner of the Bednarik and Nagurski Awards.
UPDATED 11:49 a.m. ET: Teddy Greenstein of the Chicago Tribune tweeted late this morning that Fitzgerald’s salary is now in the range of $1.8 million. There’s no word on what his previous salary was.
Additionally, Greenstein writes that “Michigan would have gone to $3[million], maybe $3.5 [million].” Fitzgerald had been considered a serious candidate to replace Rich Rodriguez before he pulled his name from the mix.