UCF and coach Gus Malzahn have agreed to a contract extension through the 2027 season, the school announced on Thursday. The extension, which became official on July 1, will pay the third-year coach of the Knights an average of $4 million per season over the next two seasons and will increase to an average of $5.5 million during the last two seasons of the contract.
"I'm blessed to be the football coach at UCF. Kristi and I love being in Orlando," Malzahn said. "I look forward to continuing to be a part of building a consistent championship program at this special place."
Malzahn is 21-11 during his career with the Knights. He led them to back-to-back bowl games in his first two seasons -- which were the program's last in the AAC. UCF is 3-2 this season -- its first in the Big 12. The raise places Malzahn with at least five other Big 12 coaches in the $4 million per year range. The increase during the last two seasons would place him fifth in the conference in salary among the league's public schools if no other coach receives a raise between now and 2026.
"We went to Gus after spring football to discuss the bright future we believe we have with him as our head coach. We felt stability and recruiting in college football are more important than ever to build a program in the Big 12," said UCF athletic director Terry Mohajir. "This agreement with Gus along with our other coaching staffs is reflective of our Mission XII initiative in order to be more competitive at the Big 12 level."
Malzahn discussed the current state of the UCF program with CBS Sports this summer prior to its move into the Big 12.
"This is a championship program. Our goal is to win the championship," Malzahn said. "It's going to be tough, but that's the way we are recruiting. We've got some really good players and coaching staff. We just have to bring our lunch every week."
Malzahn is widely regarded as one of the founding fathers of the hurry-up, no-huddle offense that has become commonplace in college football. He was Auburn's offensive coordinator when the Tigers won the 2010 national title with Cam Newton at quarterback. He returned to the Tigers as their head coach in 2013 and led them to the BCS National Championship Game, which resulted in a loss to Florida State in the final minute of the game. He went 68-35 in eight years with the Tigers, won the SEC West twice and claimed the conference title in 2013.
Malzahn's first job as a head coach in college football came in 2012 when he led Arkansas State to a 9-3 record, the Sun Belt title and a berth in the GoDaddy.com Bowl.
