Urban Meyer 6 Year Contract Extension

While there are still some talking about Urban Meyer leaving for Notre Dame after this year, this news update says 100% otherwise!

University of Florida football coach Urban Meyer, who has led the Gators to two national championships in three years, was rewarded Monday with a six-year, $24 million contract extension that runs through 2014.

Coach Meyer has certainly proven to be one of the top college football coaches in the country and should be compensated as such,” UF athletics director Jeremy Foley said.

Meyer, who arrived in Gainesville in 2005, had signed a six-year extension in 2007 for $3.2 million per year. His new contract, which averages $4 million per year, makes him one of the highest-paid coaches in the country along with Southern California’s Pete Carroll ($4.4 million), Alabama’s Nick Saban ($3.9 million) and LSU’s Les Miles ($3.7 million).

I continue to be very thankful and appreciative for everything the University of Florida and the athletic program has done for me and my family,” Meyer said.

One of the most interesting aspects of Meyer’s new contract, according to UF associate athletic director Steve McClain, is language that indicates Meyer will donate $1 million per year to the University of Florida’s Florida Opportunity Scholars Program for the life of the contract. The program provides financial assistance to first-generation, financially disadvantaged students.

I believe that Urban Meyer is the best at what he does,” UF president Bernie Machen said. “He demands excellence of his players on the field and the classroom. Not only did the University of Florida win a national championship in January, but all 13 seniors earned degrees and the 2008 football team tied an SEC league record with 37 players named to the SEC academic honor roll.

The Gators won the BCS national championship in 2008 and return 17 starters from that team, including senior quarterback Tim Tebow and senior linebacker Brandon Spikes. UF likely will be ranked No. 1 to begin the season. Fall practice begins Thursday.

Story courtesy of Miami Herald.

Jan Downling Announced Women’s Golf Coach

Athletics Director Jeremy Foley announced Jan Dowling as the University of Florida’s women’s golf coach. Dowling comes to UF after spending one season as an assistant coach at Duke University and two seasons as an assistant at Kent State University. She also played as a professional for almost three years before entering the collegiate coaching ranks.

“Throughout this search, Jan Dowling’s name kept coming up as a fast-rising coaching talent. She has solid credentials as a player and as a coach. Florida’s had success developing young, gifted coaches and Jan certainly fits that model. Jan loves coaching and loves the game of golf. She is confident that she can lead this program and recruit talented student-athletes to Florida,” Foley said. “We believe that Jan will be very successful at Florida.”

“I’d like to thank Mr. Foley for this tremendous opportunity,” Dowling said. “There are currently a lot of talented players at Florida and we are going to create a team atmosphere to build on this and get the program back into national championship contention year in and year out. We have every resource imaginable at the University of Florida which will attract elite student-athletes. Gainesville is a wonderful place to live and makes UF a great total package. I’m also looking forward to working with everyone at UF’s Athletic Association.

Full article at Gator Zone