Chizik gets raise

AUBURN- After leading Auburn to the 2010 national championship, Auburn football coach Gene Chizik has been rewarded with a raise to $3.5 million annually and a contract extension through 2015.

“I am pleased to announce a well-deserved raise and contract extension for Coach Chizik,” Auburn athletics director Jay Jacobs said in a statement released through the university on Thursday. “We believe that we have the best coach in college football. More importantly, Coach Chizik is a great mentor to our student-athletes, he represents Auburn with class and integrity in all that he does, and he is an outstanding ambassador for Auburn University.”

Chizik could earn an additional $1 million in incentives under the amended contract. The 2010 National Coach of the Year, Chizik has guided Auburn to a 22-5 record in his first two seasons.

The new contract makes Chizik the eighth-highest paid coach in the nation and fourth in the SEC behind Alabama’s Nick Saban, LSU’s Les Miles and Arkansas’ Bobby Petrino.

Chizik earned $2.1 million last season and an additional $1.35 million in bonuses.

“We will continue to provide Coach Chizik and our football program the resources needed to build a strong foundation so that we can consistently compete for championships in the future,” Jacobs said. “We look forward to Coach Chizik being our coach at Auburn for a long, long time.”

Auburn’s national championship was the program’s first since 1957, while its Southeastern Conference title in 2010 was the school’s seventh conference crown.

“I want to thank President Gogue and Jay Jacobs for their leadership and vision and believing in the direction that we have established for the Auburn football program,” Chizik said. “I deeply appreciate their commitment to me and to the future of Auburn football. The success that we’ve accomplished in the past two seasons has been possible because of the collective efforts of the football coaches and staff, players, our administration and the entire Auburn Family. We will continue to work tirelessly to build the foundation of the Auburn football program so that we can compete for championships regularly.”

Auburn will open the 2011 season on September 3 at 11 a.m. against Utah State in Jordan-Hare Stadium.