NORMAN — The University of Oklahoma Board of Regents approved defensive coordinator Mike Stoops’ contract on Tuesday.
Stoops, who agreed to return to the Sooner program last week after spending the last eight as Arizona’s head coach, received a three-year contract that will pay him $600,000 annually.
OU athletic director Joe Castiglione told The Transcript on Tuesday night that Stoops’ contract marks the first time an assistant coach has been given a multi-year contract.
“It’s becoming more and more common around the country,” Castiglione said.
Former Sooner defensive coordinator Brent Venables received a four-year deal from Clemson for the same position last week.
The deal Stoops agreed to will pay him $245,000 per year in base salary. He will receive another $355,000 in unrestricted private funds for personal services and fundraising activities.
Stoops is also eligible for two “stay bonuses” if he remains at OU for all three seasons. Both are worth $50,000. He’ll receive the first if he’s still the Sooners’ defensive coordinator on May 1, 2013. The second will be payable on May 1, 2014.
If he stay all three years, he will pull in $1.9 million.
The contract also calls for performance bonuses. The only one mentioned in the agenda item released by the regents on Tuesday was $60,000 if OU wins a BCS national championship.
All current OU assistant football coaches receive an extra month’s salary if the program wins a Big 12 championship.
