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UF to Spurrier: 4 more years

Gators give their coach a contract extension through 2006 for $2.1-million a season.

By JOANNE KORTH

© St. Petersburg Times, published November 14, 2000

GAINESVILLE -- Florida football coach Steve Spurrier has agreed to terms of a four-year, $8.4-million contract extension with his alma mater through the 2006 season.

"There is no negotiating," Spurrier said. "It's the same contract. It's just a matter of putting more years on it. It's nice that they extend it and not terminate it."

No.4 Florida plays at No.3 Florida State on Saturday, with the winner hoping for a spot in the national championship game in the Orange Bowl on Jan.3.

Spurrier, 55, said in the summer that he expected to coach until he was 60, which means the extension likely will keep him at Florida for the remainder of his career.

"I don't know if I can last that long, but I like to go four or five (years) at a time," Spurrier said. "We have got good players, good young players, and a good recruiting class. I think we have a good one on the way this year."

Spurrier is in the fourth year of a six-year, $12-million contract signed after Florida won the 1996 national championship. That contract paid him on escalating scale. He made $1.7-million in 1997, is making $1.9-million this season and was scheduled to make $2.1-million in 2001.

Under the new contract, about half of which will be paid through UF's deal with Nike, Spurrier will make $2.1-million each season, 2001-06, athletic director Jeremy Foley said.

"Obviously, we want Steve Spurrier to be our coach for a long time, so we are working on an extension," Foley said.

Before Spurrier's arrival in 1990, the Gators never officially had won a Southeastern Conference championship. Under Spurrier, the Gators have won five and will play in their seventh SEC title on Dec.2 in Atlanta. Saturday's 41-21 victory against South Carolina gave Florida its 11th consecutive nine-win season, matching an SEC record set by Alabama from 1971-81.

Success has made Spurrier almost a constant in the rumor mills whenever NFL jobs open. He nearly signed a contract with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 1995.

He has said the challenge of the NFL might appeal to him someday, although he always has conceded it would be difficult to leave the lifestyle he loves in Gainesville.

"We're confident Steve will be with us for a long time," Foley said.

- The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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