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UConn, head coach Kevin Ollie announce new five-year agreement

Kevin Ollie

Kevin Ollie

AP

In the aftermath of his leading UConn to the national title last month, head coach Kevin Ollie became an even more popular figure in NBA coaching circles. With his lengthy playing career and coaching acumen, the UConn alum’s name was bound to come up as franchises looked to fill their vacancies. However all along Ollie stated his desire to remain in Storrs, and on Thursday he and the school have officially come to an agreement on a new five-year contract.

The contract, which runs through the 2018-19 season, will eventually pay Ollie $3.2 million in the final year of the deal. Ollie’s salary in 2014-15 will be $2.8 million, making him the highest-paid coach in the American Athletic Conference and one of the top ten highest-paid coaches in America.

“I’m very pleased that we were able to agree to a new contract and that we’ll be able to continue to build upon the success we’ve had,” Ollie said in the release. “It’s a humbling experience to be around the UConn fans and the UConn family and to know that I am their basketball coach for the foreseeable future. I’m very proud of that. UConn is a place that I love and as I’ve told everyone throughout the season and through all the recent speculation, this is where my heart is. This is where I wanted to be.

“I’m very thankful to President Herbst and Warde Manuel for showing confidence in me and my coaching staff,” Ollie continued. “It’s the student-athletes who have sacrificed to uphold the standards we have set at UConn and done such a terrific job. I’m happy and excited to be able to continue to invest in their basketball careers and their lives.”

There are also incentives for reaching certain academic and athletic benchmarks, but the key for both sides are the buyouts should Ollie leave UConn for another job. Leaving the school for another job, be it college or professional, would cost Ollie $5 million after the 2014-15 season and $4 million after the 2015-16 campaign. But that’s where the similarities end.

Ollie leaving UConn for another college job following the 2016-17 season would result in a buyout of $3 million, with the cost being $2 million in each of the final two years of the contract. But if he were to make the jump to the NBA following any of the final three years of the contract, the buyout would be just $1 million.

The defending national champions will have to account for the loss of key players such as Shabazz Napier, Niels Giffey and DeAndre Daniels. But with Ryan Boatright leading a group that will include Amida Brimah, Rodney Purvis and Daniel Hamilton the Huskies won’t lack for talent.

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