NDSU Men’s Hoops Coach Gets 5-Year Extension

FARGO, N.D. -- North Dakota State University has given a five-year contract extension to men's basketball head coach Saul Phillips that could pay him more than $1 million, total.

Phillips, 40, will earn a base annual salary of $175,000 and raises of at least 4 percent each year depending upon his performance review. He also will get bonuses for any conference, regional and national championships.

The contract runs through June 2018 and will automatically renew for two more years unless either Phillips or NDSU decides against it.

Phillips has a 108-77 record entering his seventh season. He led NDSU to an NCAA Tournament appearance in 2009, where the team lost to Kansas in the opening round.

"He is an excellent person with a great family and has proven to be an outstanding coach," NDSU athletic director Gene Taylor said in a statement Thursday. "He has led a team to the NCAA tournament and, after losing some of our program's most productive and talented basketball players to graduation, he has built another team that has excellent talent with high expectations."

NDSU also has given three-year contract extensions to wrestling coach Roger Kish and softball coach Darren Mueller. Kish will make $70,298 annually and Mueller $76,491. They also are eligible for performance bonuses.

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