MU Rewards Larry Smith, Assistants With New Contracts
6/21/1999 12:00:00 AM | Football
December 18, 1998
COLUMBIA, MO., -- Having directed a football turnaround at the University of Missouri that has seen the Tigers receive post-season bowl invitations in consecutive seasons for the first time since 1980-81, Head Coach Larry Smith has been rewarded with a new five-year contract, Director of Athletics Michael Alden announced today.
Smith, who was operating on a contract that would carry him through the 2001 season, has signed a new five-year deal that extends through the 2003 campaign. It carries with it a significant increase in his base salary (to $180,000 per year) which elevates him into the upper echelon of head coaches in the Big 12 Conference.
"I am very pleased that the University chose to extend my contract," Smith said. "I'm looking forward to continuing to build our program in the next five years. We have made some tremendous strides in all areas - in academics, facilities, recruiting, and on the field winning - the last five years. Our goal now is to reach even higher in all areas."
Alden also announced an increase in the compensation package for Smith's assistant coaches. When it takes effect on January 1, 1999, Missouri's football coaching staff will be the 4th highest-paid group in the Big 12, up from its previous eighth-place standing.
"Boosting the salary base for our coaches is tremendous," Smith said. "Being able to maintain a stable coaching staff is a critical issue, and ranking in the top 50 percent of the conference says a lot about the commitment the University has made to us."
Smith is also appreciative of the facility projects completed by the University since his arrival at MU. "The improvements that have been made have certainly aided our student-athletes and improved our recruiting efforts," he said.
"The University has clearly made a statement to Larry Smith and his staff that they have the Missouri football program heading in the right direction," Alden said. "We applaud their efforts in returning MU to its historic position as one of the nation's Top-25 football programs."
Chancellor Richard Wallace said: "Larry Smith demonstrates the exact combination of qualities required of a great head coach for a university like Mizzou: integrity, concern for the total well being of his players - in the classroom and on the field, respect for the standards and traditions of an academic community, a personal commitment to excellence in all that he does, and a driving ambition to compete successfully in a manner that makes all of us proud of the MU football program and our Tigers. In the tradition of Don Faurot, Larry Smith belongs at Mizzou."
Smith took over as Missouri's head football coach in December of 1993. In five seasons his record is 25-31-1. After two years of putting his program in place, Smith's efforts began to pay off in 1996. Since then, the Tigers' record is 20-14. Missouri enters the Insight.com Bowl on Dec. 26 having won 12 of its last 16 regular-season games, with the four losses coming to teams ranked in the nation's Top-10.
At home the last two seasons, Missouri is 9-3 and crowds at Memorial Stadium/Faurot Field have climbed to record numbers. The Tigers played before an average of 57,335 fans in 1998 - MU's highest attendance average since 1981. The sellout crowd of 68,174 that attended the Kansas State game was Mizzou's biggest since 1984. After its attendance climbed in 1997 by more than 13,000 per game (fifth largest increase in the nation), Missouri saw its season-ticket base jump by 24 percent in 1998.
Smith, 59, is the nation's 12th winningest active coach with a 22-year career record of 135-111-7. He is one of only four men in NCAA history who have taken four schools to bowl games.
