Minnesota agrees to contract with Kill

MINNEAPOLIS, Oct. 25 (UPI) -- Minnesota football Coach Jerry Kill, seven games into his first season with the Gophers, has signed a seven-year contract with the school.

Kill signed a memorandum of agreement last December for coach at Minnesota, but it wasn't until this week that a contract deal was announced. It is retroactive to last December and continues through February 2018.

The Pioneer Press newspaper in St. Paul, Minn., reported the agreement is worth $1.2 million a year.

The Gophers are 1-6 this season going into a game against Iowa.

"I'm glad it's now settled and we can move on from here," Kill said Tuesday. "We are excited about the future of our program."

Kill, 50, has been hospitalized at times this season because of seizures. He collapsed on the sidelined during a game Sept. 10.

He coached at Saginaw Valley State (Mich.), Emporia State (Kan.), Southern Illinois and Northern Illinois building a 127-73 record over 17 seasons before joining Minnesota. He was voted the NCAA Division I-AA coach of the year after coaching Southern Illinois to a 10-2 record.