Chris Collins Gets Contract Extension From Northwestern

Building a successful basketball program at Northwestern is no easy task—the Big Ten school has notably never made an NCAA Tournament appearance—but the university apparently believes it has the right man for the job in head coach Chris Collins. That was confirmed today when the university announced a contract extension for the former Coach K disciple. While the results have been marginal thus far, the Wildcats have improved in each of Collins’ two years in Evanston, and he has accrued a 29-36 record with a 12-24 conference mark with the Wildcats.

From The Chicago Tribune:

Chris Collins didn’t even raise a glass with wife Kim the night he agreed to a contract extension to remain at Northwestern.

 

“Maybe we gave each other a hug,” Collins told the Tribune. “I was never worried about it. I want to be here for the long haul and build a program.”

 

The extension, yet to be announced by the school, resulted from Collins’ end-of-season meeting with Jim Phillips, NU’s athletic director.

 

Phillips said negotiations were easy on the multiyear extension. Collins would not divulge the deal’s length, saying he will stay in Evanston for at least the “foreseeable future.”

 

“It’s not ‘coach Cal’ money,” he said in reference to Kentucky coach John Calipari’s $7 million-plus annual salary. “But it’s in the ballpark of what guys in our league are making. I want to be at Northwestern and love what we’re doing. I just wanted to be treated fairly.”