Courtesy: GoBearcats.com

Head football coach Brian Kelly and the University of Cincinnati have agreed to terms on a new five-year deal that will keep Kelly on the sidelines through the 2013 season, Director of Athletics Mike Thomas announced today (June 22, 2009), pending the approval of the contract by the University Board of Trustees.

Kelly previously signed a new five-year contract on Dec. 17, 2007.

“In a short period of time, Brian Kelly has made a name for himself and the University of Cincinnati football team across the country,” said Thomas. “His impact has been immediate not only as a coach, but also as a member of our community and a great ambassador for the University. This past season Brian led the program to historic heights on and off the field, winning the BIG EAST Conference and leading the Bearcats to their first BCS appearance in the FedEx Orange Bowl. His program also earned accolades in the classroom for one of the nation’s highest graduation rates and posting the highest GPA in the BIG EAST. We look forward to watching the future of the football program unfold under the leadership of Coach Kelly for many years to come as we strive to stay atop the BIG EAST and bring a National Championship home to Cincinnati.”

Entering his third season at the helm of the football program, Kelly led UC to a school-record 11 wins in 2008, along with the school’s first BIG EAST Conference Championship, and an appearance in the 75th FedEx Orange Bowl, the first Bowl Championship Series appearance by Cincinnati.

Following the close of the regular season, Kelly was named the BIG EAST Coach of the Year for the second-straight season. He also earned American Football Monthly Schutt Sports Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) Coach of the year accolades, American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) Region 1 Coach of the Year honors, and was named the Sporting News’ BIG EAST Coach of the Year.

“I want to thank Monica Rimai and the Board of Trustees for their confidence and support,” Kelly said “This agreement between the University of Cincinnati and its Athletic Department, under the charge of Mike Thomas, allows me to continue to grow, develop and ensure success for Bearcats Football. I also want to thank the Bearcats Community, fans and all those associated with our program for their support over the past 30 months. This is what truly makes Bearcats Football special – the passion of our fan base. You can be assured that we will continue to recruit quality student-athletes, so we can achieve national excellence in the classroom and on the football field. This agreement allows me and my family to call Cincinnati our home, not just a place where we live.”

The Bearcats’ 21 wins since 2007-08 marks the best two-year stretch in school history, and the first time UC has won 10 or more games in back-to-back seasons.

UC established single-season attendance records in each of the past two years, and eight of the top-12 crowds in Nippert Stadium history have come during Kelly’s tenure. The Bearcats enter the 2009 season on a six-game home winning streak.

Kelly’s student-athletes have succeeded in the classroom as well. Cincinnati was one of seven programs nationally to receive recognition for its graduation success rate of over 90 percent, while 11 players were named Academic All-BIG EAST. The Bearcats also ranked fourth in Higher Ed Watch’s 2008 Academic BCS rankings and won the BIG EAST Team Academic Excellence Award, signifying the highest collective GPA among the league’s football squads.

UC returns 43 letterwinners and 11 starters, including quarterback Tony Pike, offensive tackle Jeff Linkenbach, and safety Aaron Webster. Senior wide receiver/kick returner Mardy Gilyard, was an all-America selection and First-Team all-BIG EAST performer a year ago.

Kelly receives a guaranteed salary of $1.475 million over the next five years as well as performance-based incentives. Kelly’s assistant coaches will also receive pay increases to keep them in line with their BIG EAST counterparts.

ON JUNE 22, 2009

Opening Statement

“I apologize for being late. I was doing an event at the Talbert House. I had a chance to speak to a group that obviously does great work in the community. That has been the great thing about this job. It’s allowed me to be part of this community. This new agreement allows me to continue to build our program to a championship level.  At the end of the day, for me, it’s always about being given the opportunity to build a championship program. Wherever I have been, whether it be at Grand Valley State where we won national championships or at Central Michigan, it’s always been about winning championships. Now at the University of Cincinnati, we can set our goals towards winning a national championship.

“Certainly CATAPULT is important, and we’ve won a BIG EAST Championship. The next goal out there is to continue to build our program and be a championship contender. That’s what this agreement really does for our program. It puts us in a position to compete nationally. Mike Thomas has always been part of that want and desire. What this agreement signifies is an investment from the University of Cincinnati. I want to thank our Board of Trustees and interim President Monica Rimai for their confidence and support in giving us this opportunity. Like I said, under Mike’s direction, that’s always been the course. But you also have to have the resources. Mike’s been given the resources and he’s entrusted those resources to me to continue to build our program. I’m very excited about that opportunity.”

On the facets of the contract that are most important

“You can’t do it yourself. It’s not a one man show. You’ve got to have continuity in your staff and in your support staff. This contract signifies our ability to maintain and keep quality people here at the University of Cincinnati that are associated with our football program. That was absolutely crucial because it’s not a one-man operation. You have to have great assistants and a great support staff. That’s a major piece of this. I think the other very important part of this contract, and Mike (Thomas) talked about the language, was making sure that we could continue from an operational standpoint to be a BCS football program. To do that you need support from the University and we’ve been given that support to maintain being a BCS football program. Not just a team in the BIG EAST. That’s not good enough. I want to be a BCS contender every year.”

On being fully equipped to contend for a national title

“The pieces are now in place. It’s still a journey. Remember now, we’re only in this for 30 months so far. You do not build a national championship football program in 30 months. What you do is you stay committed to a program because the pieces are now coming together. That’s the most exciting thing for me. Now, the University and Mike Thomas have given us the opportunity to continue to build this program towards a championship program.”

On the future practice facilities

“We’re going to have those facilities. We’ve raised a great deal of money in a time where it’s difficult to raise dollars because they all have to be private. Mike Thomas has been there from Day 1 relative to the leadership we need. What I wanted to see was our University. What they did for us was probably give us one of the last buildable spots of green space on this campus by giving us that land to build our fields. That’s been a huge commitment for me. Then we had to go out and raise the money and we’ve done a great job. We’re going to have those things in place. I’m always one that wants it yesterday.  I feel really good about where we are, the money that we’ve raised, the commitment we’ve gotten from the University to have that piece to finish off the infrastructure needs of this program.”

On the operational components of the budget

“There’s technology. When you look at today in terms of digital versus analog, there’s so much that goes into technology to maintain our program’s edge. Film. Video. All those things are important. Maintaining a budget in a difficult time when there is so many cutbacks. We have to be humble about what we have but we also know that we can continue to move forward. Operationally is really about all the technological things that you need; recruiting, film analysis, video. We’ve ensured that we will continue to have all the things necessary to compete at the highest level.”

On doors open now in recruiting that were not open a year ago

“Absolutely. If you look at where we’ve gone in our recruiting, you can see now that the kids that we’re recruiting, we’re recruiting against the very best. We can’t get them all, but there are so many good football players in this area, that there’s enough for everybody. We’re still going to take kids that we think fit our profile athletically and academically, but we think we can be in the conversation with any kid. That wasn’t the case when I got here two years ago.”

Closing Statement

“Again, thank you so much. It’s an exciting time for me and my family. We get to call Cincinnati our home, and that’s a great thing for us. Thank you very much.”

SOURCE: GoBearcats.com Release