Report: South Carolina’s Steve Spurrier granted contract extension through 2017

Ben Cornfield | December 3, 2012 at 6:59 pm | 1 Comment

Steve Spurrier has led the South Carolina Gamecocks to consecutive 10-win seasons for the first time in program history, setting the school’s all-time wins record with 65 in the process.

South Carolina Gamecocks head coach Steve Spurrier is as cool as the other side of the pillow having signed another contract extension. (Don McPeak-USA TODAY Sports)

The University’s board of trustees has chosen to reward The Ol’ Ball Coach for his efforts.

Having previously re-upped Spurrier’s contract one year ago and including a $475,000 raise, Spurrier received two more years this time around with no additional raise.

Thus, Spurrier will make $3.3 million in 2013 on a contract that is scheduled to now run through the 2017 season.

He won his 65th game at the school in the team’s regular season finale against Clemson, and with one more victory on the year, Spurrier has the chance to set yet another school record.

South Carolina, at 10-2 and 6-2 in the SEC, faces an 8-4 overall (6-2 in the Big Ten) Michigan team in the Outback Bowl in a game the Gamecocks are expected to win. Should the odds-makers prove correct, the victory will be Spurrier’s third bowl victory at the school, a record.

Having already made a fortune coaching for decades, Athletic director Ray Tanner said Spurrier wasn’t concerned about his financial package. However, what Spurrier was thinking about was how two more years would help with football recruiting.

“We have achieved a lot of goals, but we have not yet won the SEC championship,” Spurrier said. “Hopefully, we can do that within the next couple of years.”

Like most deals, Spurrier’s is laden with incentives. Those in the additional two years of his freshly signed contract will remain the same as those approved back in February when his deal was most recently extended. The school had also already agreed to add the Outback Bowl to the list of other top-tier postseason games where Spurrier would earn $100,000 bonus for playing there, as is the case this year.

Spurrier has already earned bonuses totaling $150,000 for 10 victories. He can get an additional $200,000 for an 11th win.

The Ol’ Ball Coach wants to take home a BCS National Championship, not an Outback Bowl win. Now he has until at least 2017 to do so, and in all likelihood as long as he feels up for the job.

Quotes from ESPN were used in this report.