LUBBOCK, Texas — Texas Tech and coach Mike Leach agreed Thursday on a new contract after months of contentious negotiations.
Leach signed the contract shortly after he and Kent Hance, the university’s chancellor, met for about two hours Thursday afternoon to hammer out an agreement. Hance said the negotiating part lasted only about 15 minutes.
“Me and my family are thrilled to death that we’re going to be in Lubbock for another five years,” Leach said at an evening news conference. “I appreciate Chancellor Hance and Gerald [Myers’] efforts to allow us to stay here and the opportunity to be here to coach the Red Raiders for many years to come.”
In the new contract that keeps Leach at Tech through 2013, Leach only needs to notify Myers in writing to interview at another school.
The contract also includes a $250,000 bonus if Leach and Tech win the national championship, a $75,000 bonus if Tech participates in a BCS Bowl and a $50,000 bonus if Leach is picked as national coach of the year
If Tech terminates the contract, the school must pay Leach $400,000 for each year remaining on the agreement. And there is no buyout amount.
In their ninth season under Leach, the Red Raiders reached unprecedented heights in 2008. They went 10-0 for the first time and beat top-ranked Texas to secure the highest ranking in school history at No. 2. Texas Tech was knocked out of BCS contention with a blowout loss to Oklahoma, then fell to Mississippi in the Cotton Bowl to finish 11-2.
Public opinion seemed to favor Leach as the drama unfolded. A few dozen supporters rallied on his behalf Tuesday, the day before a Texas Tech alumnus and another fan took out a full-page ad in the Lubbock newspaper blasting the Texas Tech administration for its stance.
Architect of the nation’s most prolific offense the past decade, Leach is 76-39 and has taken Texas Tech to a bowl game every season. He’s six victories shy of Spike Dykes’ school record of 82.