LARAMIE — University of Wyoming football coach Dave Christensen soon will sign a new five-year contract.
Christensen and athletic director Tom Burman confirmed their agreement on the deal Saturday, the day the Cowboys were beaten by Temple 37-15 in Albuquerque at the New Mexico Bowl.
Burman said Christensen will get a substantial raise.
“I really don’t want to talk about dollar figures until we get it done, but there is a significant raise,” Burman told the Wyoming Tribune Eagle. “We want to keep him here, and we knew we had to up the ante.”
No other details of the pending contract were announced by the Cowboys. Burman said he expects the contract to be finalized this week.
Burman told the Casper Star-Tribune that other universities were expressing interest in Christensen.
Christensen is 18-20 in three seasons at Wyoming. The Cowboys have played in the New Mexico Bowl in two of those three years, going 1-1.
“I’m excited about the direction of the program,” he said.
Christensen, 50, was named the Mountain West coach of the year this season after leading the Cowboys to a third-place finish and a 5-2 conference record. Wyoming was 8-5 overall.
Freshman quarterback Brett Smith said he was happy to hear about the new contract.
“It makes us feel good because he recruited us, and we committed to his program,” Smith said.
