U of L Extends Petrino's Contract through 2010
March 04, 2004 | Football
March 4, 2004
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - University of Louisville head football coach Bobby Petrino has signed a three-year contract extension which will boost his association with the U of L program through the 2010 season.Petrino had four years remaining on the original agreement he signed with U of L on Dec. 23, 2002 that ran through 2007. The new contract provides increases in his salary, achievement bonuses and completion bonuses for the remaining six years of the agreement.
"I'm very pleased where Bobby has taken this program and the direction he is headed," said U of L Director of Athletics Tom Jurich. "To be able to land the top high school football player in the state the last three years and to mold a shorthanded and inexperienced team into nine-win bowl team in his first year are phenominal accomplishments. He has laid the groundwork to move our program forward through his exceptional organizational skills, recruiting and on-field coaching. I appreciate Bobby's commitment and genuine interest in our program and we look forward to the dramatically improved opportunities that lie ahead of us with the Big East Conference's status in the Bowl Championship Series."
Petrino guided the Cardinals to one of its most memorable seasons in school history, his first as a head coach. The Helena, Montana native directed the Cardinals to a 9-4 record, a school-record sixth-straight bowl appearance, and guided an offense that set numerous offensive records.
Petrino's nine wins were the most-ever by a first-year head coach at U of L. He has established himself as one of the top offensive minds in the country, as the Cardinals led Conference USA in total offense, rushing and scoring. U of L also achieved lofty rankings on the national level, finishing fifth in total offense, 10th in rushing and 15th in scoring offense in NCAA statistics. U of L set 10 offensive school records, including a school-best 450 points, team-record 2,966 yards and a record 6,355 yards in total offense. Petrino's offense unit set six Conference USA marks, including the record for most total yards in a season and game, average yards per play, yards per carry, rushing touchdowns and all-purpose yards.
Petrino's entertaining product excited U of L fans with a 5-1 record at home in Papa John's Cardinal Stadium, averaging a staggering 36.2 points per game and 489.2 yards of total offense.
In his first season as a head coach, Petrino's no-nonsense style and emphasis on teaching has catapulted the Cardinal program into the national spotlight. The Cardinals raced out to one of their fastest starts in school history, running to a 7-1 start that gave the program its first national ranking since opening the 2002 season at No. 17. In a win over Houston on November 22, the Cardinals amassed a school record 779 yards of total offense, which was also the second-highest total in the country. Several individual accolades were also accomplished in 2003, as Stefan LeFors, J.R. Russell and Ronnie Ghent were each first team All-Conference USA selections.
The 42-year-old Petrino is no stranger to the Derby City, having served as the Cards' offensive coordinator during the 1998 season when U of L led the nation in total offense and was fifth in scoring offense. During that season, Petrino's high-octane offense rewrote the Cardinal record book, establishing school records for scoring, scoring average, touchdowns, passing touchdowns and total yards while helping the Cards post the top turnaround (six games) among Division I-A schools. That squad scored 444 points and reached 60 or more points on three different occasions. U of L defeated Cincinnati, 62-19, Western Kentucky, 63-44, and East Carolina, 63-45.
Petrino returned to U of L after a four-year hiatus in which he spent two seasons coaching the quarterbacks and another as the offensive coordinator for the Jacksonville Jaguars of the NFL.
During his tenure with the Jaguars, Petrino tutored Mark Brunnell to three of his best passing seasons in his illustrious career. Brunnell threw for 3,640 yards in 2000, which was the second-highest total in team history, and 3,309 yards in Petrino's only term as the offensive coordinator with the Jaguars in 2001.
After his three seasons in the NFL, Petrino took over as the offensive coordinator during the 2002 season at Auburn University.
The Tigers finished the 2002 season with an 9-4 mark and led the Southeastern Conference in pass efficiency and third down conversions while also ranking third in the league in scoring offense, rushing offense and total offense en route to 13-9 victory over Penn State in the Capitol One Bowl.
It did not take long for Petrino to put his stamp on the Auburn offense in 2002 as the Tigers improved to No. 31 nationally in scoring average (31.25 ppg) and No. 38 nationally in scoring offense (396.67 ypg) after ranking No. 86 nationally in scoring offense (22.18 ppg) and No. 73 in total offense (358.82 ypg) during the 2001 campaign. The Tigers finished the regular season with an 8-4 mark and led the Southeastern Conference in pass efficiency and third down conversions while also ranking third in the league in scoring offense, rushing offense and total offense.
Before taking the reigns of the Cards' offense in 1998, Petrino served as the offensive coordinator at Utah State from 1995-97, transforming a program which averaged a little more than 300 yards per contest into an offensive juggernaut which established a USU record with 468.5 yards of total offense per game during the '96 season.
Prior to joining the Utah State staff, Petrino spent the 1994 season at the University of Nevada as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach. His one season with the Wolfpack saw his unit rate second nationally in passing and total offense, averaging more than 330 yards passing and 500 yards of total offense per game. Nevada also averaged 37.6 points per game to finish third nationally in scoring offense.
Petrino spent two years at Arizona State as quarterbacks coach from 1992-93, working with Heisman Trophy candidate Jake Plummer. Before ASU, he spent one season as quarterbacks coach and another two as offensive coordinator at Idaho. Prior to the stint at Idaho, he spent a pair of seasons tutoring wide receivers and tight ends at Weber State in '87 and '88. He also coached quarterbacks as a graduate assistant in 1984.
The Helena, Montana, native began his coaching career at his alma mater, Carroll College, in 1983 as a graduate assistant. Following his one-year stint at Weber State, Petrino returned to Carroll as offensive coordinator and produced the NAIA's top-ranked offense in both '85 and '86.
A two-time NAIA All-American quarterback at Carroll, Petrino guided the Fighting Saints to three consecutive Frontier Conference championships and was named the league's most valuable player in '81 and '82.
Born March 10, 1961 in Lewiston, Mont., Petrino received his bachelor's degree in physical education from Carroll in 1983. He is married to the former Becky Schaff and the couple has four children - Kelsey, Dominic, Bobby and Katie.
