OSU, Gundy agree to new 5-year contract
Mike Gundy has an undefeated team and a new contract.
Oklahoma State's board of regents approved a new agreement that would keep the Cowboys' longtime football coach on a perpetual five-year contract, the school announced Friday. Terms of the deal were not released. Gundy, whose 6-0 Cowboys face Iowa State on the road Saturday in Ames, is in his 17th season as head coach at his alma mater and has a 143-67 record.
“Coach Gundy has elevated the Cowboys to among the most consistent winners in college football during his 17-year tenure at Oklahoma State University,"
OSU athletic director Chad Weiberg said in a release. "The numbers speak to our program's success under his leadership. OSU is one of only seven teams to post a winning season every year over the past decade, and entered 2021 as one of only three Power Five teams with a winning season and bowl appearance in each of the past 15 years. ...
"Coach Gundy has great coaches on his staff, talented people in the program and remarkable young men on the team. While we have experienced great success the past 17 seasons, I look forward to the future and believe the best is yet to come for Cowboy Football under coach Gundy's leadership.”
Gundy had his contract reduced by $1 million and one year to a perpetual fouryear contract last summer after a near player revolt sparked by a photo surfacing on social media June 15 of Gundy wearing a T-shirt of OAN Network, a cable network which derided the Black Lives Matter movement and was rated by Media Bias/Fact Check as being "not a credible news source.”
Gundy apologized to the team and vowed to move forward with his players.
"Black lives matter to me," Gundy said last June. "Our players matter to me."
“A step in the right direction,” thenOSU running back Chuba Hubbard responded on Twitter.
Gundy currently earns $4.2 million per year, which ranks 30th among NCAA football coaches according to USA Today's salary database.
“I am appreciative to Athletic Director Weiberg for his commitment and confidence in our football program, as well as our entire athletic department," Gundy said in a release.
"I also want to thank President (Kayse) Shrum and the Board of Regents. Stillwater is home, and I love this community and Oklahoma State. Coaching my beloved alma mater is a great honor for me. I look forward to working with my outstanding coaching staff to continue having a positive impact on the lives of the players and their families who allow us the privilege to help them succeed on the field and in life.”