In a mild surprise, UND athletic director Bill Chaves announced on Monday that he awarded head coach Bubba Schweigert with a four-year contract extension. The extension takes Schweigert’s contract through the 2023 season.
Schweigert’s salary will be $215,000 in 2020 and increase to $245,000 in the final year.
The Hawks have made the playoffs twice in six seasons under Schweigert and won the Big Sky championship in 2016. His overall record at UND is 37-32.
I mentioned it was a bit of a surprise and by that I mean timing-wise. Schweigert had two years left on his contract so something was going to happen this summer or very soon after the season. Coaches typically don’t enter their last year of a contract without something in the works. That’s not good for anybody – assistants, recruiting, etc.
Chaves seemed to feel that stability was needed as UND makes their maiden voyage into the MVFC. Coming off a playoff season, it does make sense to get it over with early and have the staff get to work without the contract status hanging over their heads.
“I am happy to announce that we have extended Coach Schweigert’s contract by an additional two years,” said Chaves. “We are only one of 25 FCS programs in the country that have qualified for the playoff field twice during the past four seasons, and with us now heading to the most difficult conference in the country, having stability at the helm was incredibly important. I look forward to working with Bubba [Schweigert] in all aspects of the program moving forward.”
We mentioned in a tweet that Schweigert’s salary is starting to become more competitive with his peers in the MVFC. For years he was underpaid by FCS standards and most knew that UND had to increase his salary over time, along with increasing the assistant salary pool, which has happened both due to Schweigert taking less money himself and the AD upping the pool amount.
It also makes/made it easier to hire assistants, like Austin Flyger, when you can tell them an extension is in the works and thus job security is there. Also, we expect UND to name their new running backs coach very soon. Spring ball has already started and getting a coach in place is of high importance.
Here’s a look at the base salaries of the current MVFC head coaches:
- Matt Entz (NDSU) – $380,000
- Mark Farley (UNI) – $375,000
- Brock Spack (ISU) – $357,000
- Bob Nielson (USD) – $300,000
- John Stiegelmeier (SDSU) – $255,000
- Bobby Petrino (MSU) – $250,000
- Doug Phillips (YSU) – $250,000
- Bubba Schweigert (UND) – $215,000
- Curt Mallory (ISU) – $210,000
- Jared Elliot (WIU) – $175,000
Cover image courtesy of Nick Nelson – Forum News Service.