Colorado State athletics has taken major steps to solidify its leadership over the course of just 48 hours.
The university announced Thursday that football coach Mike Bobo received a three-year contract extension that runs through 2022. The announcement came just two days after athletic director Joe Parker was given that ends the same year.
Bobo, hired by CSU in 2015, will earn a base salary of $1.8 million starting in 2018 with annual increases of $100,000. Bobo’s original five-year contract was set to pay out $1.65 million next year. With his new deal, Bobo’s salary will max out at $2.2 million in 2022, plus any bonus compensation for a variety of team accomplishments as set in his previous contract.
Bobo will also see an increase from $2.4 million to $3 million in allotted assistant coach pay, at a time when he’s tasked with filling vacancies for offensive and defensive coordinators, a cornerbacks coach, plus an additional 10th full-time assistant when a new NCAA rule allows for it starting January 10th.
Bobo earned $1.55 million this fall in addition to a $50,000 bonus for reaching the New Mexico Bowl.
“I’ve had three seasons to evaluate the progress of the football program under Mike’s leadership and I feel really good about the direction of CSU football — seven wins in each of the last three regular seasons,” Parker said. “It’s interesting, because we get a chance to look a little closer than people outside the football building would and I just feel really good about the embedded leadership he’s created within the team.”
Should Bobo, 43, not fulfill the term length of the extension, his buyout structure varies depending on which party initiates the split. If Bobo is lured away by a Power 5 program, CSU is owed $3.5 million before 2019, $3 million before 2020, $2 million in 2021, $1 million before 2022, or nothing if before 2023.
However, if CSU fires Bobo without cause, he is protected even more financially. Bobo will be owed $8 million before 2019, $5.5 million before 2020, $3 million before 2021, $2 million before 2022, and the prorated amount of his remaining salary before 2023.
“I don’t think Mike has moved here with the idea that this is just a transition point,” Parker said. “I think he accepted this opportunity because he believed that we had a history and tradition of championships and that he could put us on that path again. … There are different things in life that can pull you off center, but I’d say this is his center right now for sure.”
Parker added that the conversation about an extension began midseason and that despite winning seven games this year, he preached patience and is confident Bobo is the right coach to carry CSU to the next level. A victory against Marshall at 2:30 p.m. Saturday would give the former Georgia offensive coordinator his first eight-win season in Fort Collins. Bobo is the only coach in CSU history to lead the Rams to bowl appearances in each of his first three seasons.
Joe Parker said he's not satisfied with 7-win football seasons and neither is Mike Bobo.
— Matt L. Stephens (@MattStephens)
Bobo’s greatest impact at CSU has undoubtedly been on offense as the team’s primary play-caller. CSU has averaged a school-record 501 yards of total offense this fall, which ranked No. 10 nationally, and exceeded 40 points in five different games.
“I am very grateful for the confidence shown in me by both Joe Parker and (university president) Tony Frank,” Bobo said. “It is humbling and gratifying to be able to show my commitment to Colorado State University with the signing of this extension. I’m thankful for the terrific support of our fans and alumni, and the Fort Collins community that has welcomed my family and me, and has made us feel at home here. I would also like to thank the outstanding student-athletes and coaches in our program, as well as the university community for all of their hard work, support and investment in our football program. To see our new on-campus stadium become a reality is something we all are very proud of.”
Go-go Gallup. CSU senior receiver Michael Gallup was named a consensus All-American by the NCAA on Thursday, becoming just the fourth player in program history to earn the status in joining former defensive lineman Mike Bell, safety Greg Myers and receiver Rashard Higgins.
Gallup was named first-team All-American by the Football Writers Association of America and the Walter Camp Football Foundation, and received second-team marks from the Associated Press and the American Football Coaches Association. Gallup, who transferred to CSU from Butler Community College (Kan.) in 2016, enters the New Mexico Bowl against Marshall on Saturday with 94 receptions for 1,345 yards and seven touchdowns.
Gallup has also accepted an invitation to play in the Senior Bowl on Jan. 27 in Mobile, Ala., and is expected to be picked in the 2018 NFL draft, to be held April 26-28.