WVU Coach Holgorsen Gets 5-year Contract Extension

West Virginia coach Dana Holgorsen has been rewarded with a five-year contract extension after the Mountaineers’ best Big 12 finish since entering the conference in 2012.

Athletic director Shane Lyons announced the extension in a statement Saturday after No. 14 West Virginia beat Baylor 24-21. The five-year package is worth $18.6 million plus incentives.

Holgorsen was rewarded as West Virginia completed a 10-2 regular-season Saturday, finished third in the Big 12 and was ranked in the Top 10 on separate occasions. He is 46-30 at West Virginia in six seasons.

“I am pleased and happy that he wants to continue to lead the Mountaineer football program,” Lyons said in the statement. “Part of my job is to give him the resources to succeed, and we will continue to work together closely to bring the very best to West Virginia football.”

The 45-year-old Holgorsen earned $2.9 million this season, including a base salary of $250,000. The statement said he’ll earn $4 million plus incentives over the final year of the contract in 2021.

West Virginia President E. Gordon Gee said it’s gratifying to see the football team’s growth during Holgorsen’s tenure

“We want to ensure we keep that momentum going,” Gee said. “We look forward to watching even further success under his leadership.”

Holgorsen hadn’t received a contract extension since signing a six-year deal in August 2012 after winning the Orange Bowl in his first season in 2011. His contract was set to expire next year.

After going 10-3 in 2011, Holgorsen went 26-25 in the next four seasons and his job security came under scrutiny.

He was told in December 2015 by Lyons following the end of a 7-5 regular season that he could keep his job. Lyons said later that Holgorsen declined to accept an offer for a contract extension and that no further discussions would be held until after the 2016 season.

But the two sides didn’t wait quite that long. West Virginia, picked to finish seventh in the league this season, won its first six games and was in Big 12 title contention until being eliminated by Oklahoma on Nov. 19.

“We’ve been working on it for quite a while,” Holgorsen said. “I put my head down and I give my coaching staff credit. They weren’t worried about it. I wasn’t worried about it.”

Holgorsen said he’s been excited about the future for some time and the contract “puts some things to rest and it will help with recruiting. So I’m excited about that.”