Washington State: Mike Leach nets contract extension

Excited for a great day of @HolidayBowlGame preparation on the practice field! #GoCougs pic.twitter.com/NW1M3XSEnA

— WSU Cougar Football (@wsucougfb) December 19, 2017

Washington State coach Mike Leach, who has led the Cougars to 26 victories in the past three seasons, received a raise and a contract extension, the school announced Monday night.

The school added a year to Leach's contract, which now runs through the 2022 season. His compensation will increase to $3.5 million in 2018, $3.75 million in 2019 and $4 million in 2020.

After the 2020 season, Leach would receive a retention bonus of $750,000. His previous compensation was $3 million per year.

Leach, whose 9-3 team will play Michigan State in the Holiday Bowl in San Diego on Dec. 28, was rumored to be in the running for other jobs this offseason, most notably Tennessee before Vols athletic director John Currie was fired.

Leach is 38-37 in six seasons in Pullman, taking over a program that had won a total of nine games in the previous four years.

"Coach Leach has led a spectacular turnaround in the fortunes of our football program during the last six years, and we want to keep him in the Cougar family for a long time to come," WSU president Kirk Schulz said in a statement.

"Importantly, our on-field football success has reaped dividends for the entire athletic program, invigorating the interest of fans, boosting football season ticket sales and increasing donor contributions to the Cougar Athletic Fund."

As part of the new deal, Leach will also have an increase of $400,000 to spend on his assistant coaching staff in 2018.

Leach is 122-90 in 16 seasons as a head coach, including 10 at Texas Tech. He is the first head coach to post three consecutive winning seasons at Washington State since Jim Sutherland from 1957 to 1959.

"I would like to thank President Schulz and Washington State for their commitment to Cougar football and appreciate his vision and leadership for WSU Athletics," Leach said in the statement. "We have accomplished some great things in our time here and my staff and I are excited to lead WSU Cougar Football into the future. We can't wait to see what's in store for our program."