On the eve of the SEC Championship game in Atlanta, first-year head football coach Gus Malzahn has received a lengthy contract extension and pay raise with Auburn.
Malzahn, who has led the Tigers to an 11-1 season after their 3-9 record in 2012, has agreed to a six-year extension.
The extension raises his pay to $3.85 million for next season, and the contract will go up an additional $250,000 each year.
His pay raise will make him the 11th highest-paid coach in the country and sixth highest-paid coach in the SEC, ahead of veteran South Carolina head coach Steve Spurrier.
"As I've said before, we want Coach Malzahn to be at Auburn for a long time," said Auburn director of athletics Jay Jacobs, who said Thursday he wanted to put Malzahn in the top-half of the conference in salary. "While this season has been remarkable, I'm equally excited about the future of our program under his leadership. The future of Auburn football is very bright."
University President Jay Gogue also voiced his support for the new contract extension in a statement.
"Jay [Jacobs] made a good recommendation, and I support it," Gogue said. "A lot of programs would love to have coach Malzahn, so this is a good move that allows him to continue taking Auburn football where our fans want it."
Gogue said he consulted with president pro tempore Jimmy Rane, who echoed Gogue and Jacobs.
"What began as a new day has turned into a great day for Auburn and the Auburn family," Rane said.
Malzahn's new contract comes after days of speculation about the head coach's future at Auburn. An anonymous source told Sports Illustrated columnist Pete Thamel that Malzahn's "dream job" was at the University of Texas.
Malzahn called Auburn his "dream job" during press conferences later in the week and added that he was "tickled to death" to be the Auburn head coach.
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