Football Coaches Receive New Contracts

Jan. 16, 2014

The University of South Carolina Board of Trustees has approved raises and one-year contract extensions for head football coach Steve Spurrier and all nine of his assistant coaches, it was announced today.

Coach Spurrier’s contract extension keeps the Head Ball Coach in charge of the Gamecock football program through the 2018 season. Additionally, Coach Spurrier had a clause added to his contract that upon his retirement as head football coach, he would be offered employment by the University as a Special Assistant to the President and the Athletics Director provided he maintains his residence in Columbia and either the current President or the current Athletics Director continue to be employed by the University in their same capacities.

“Our sustained success has put our football program on a level that few others in the country have accomplished,” said Athletics Director Ray Tanner. “We are coming off our third-consecutive 11-win season, which represents the greatest era of success in Carolina football history. In addition, our student-athletes are achieving at the highest level – on the field, in the classroom and in the community. With three-straight Top-10 finishes, South Carolina is as good as any program in the country. The contract raises and extensions for Coach Spurrier and his staff are a reflection of that success and are well-deserved.”

With the exception of defensive coordinator Lorenzo Ward, all of the assistant coaches, including Deke Adams, Kirk Botkin, Grady Brown, Shawn Elliott, G.A. Mangus, Joe Robinson, Everette Sands and Steve Spurrier Jr., have had their contacts extended through the 2015 season. Coach Ward’s three-year deal now extends through 2016.

My staff and I thoroughly enjoy coaching under the direction of President Pastides and Athletics Director Tanner,” said Coach Spurrier. “We appreciate the attitude of our Board of Trustees in keeping our salaries competitive with the rest of the SEC. We all hope to coach here many more years and we still have some goals that have not been accomplished yet.

“We thank our fans for the outstanding support that we always receive,” continued the Head Ball Coach. “A special thanks to all the fans that followed our team to Orlando for the big win over Wisconsin that enabled us to finish a school-record No. 4 in the nation.”

The Gamecocks finished the 2013 campaign with an 11-2 record and ranked fourth in both the Associated Press and the USA Today/ESPN Coaches’ polls. It marked the highest postseason ranking in school history. The Gamecocks posted three wins over teams that finished in the Top-10 (Missouri, Clemson and UCF), five wins over Top-25 squads (Missouri, Clemson, UCF, Wisconsin, Vanderbilt) and six wins over teams that won bowl games (Missouri, Clemson, UCF, Vanderbilt, Mississippi State and North Carolina). The 2013 senior class posted the most wins (42) in a four-year period in school history. The season culminated with a 34-24 win over Wisconsin in the Capital One Bowl.