Houston Reaches Contract Extension With Head Coach Kelvin Sampson
Houston has reached contract extension with head coach Kelvin Sampson, the school announced on Thursday.
Sampson's new contract runs through 2025. While terms of the agreement were not made public, school officials said last week that Sampson was offered a six-year, $18 million offer through the 2024-25 season. Sampson reached a restructured deal with Houston in 2016 that raised his annual salary to $1.4 million.
"I am excited to be at the University of Houston. We built this program to a point where we can compete for championships now, and I am glad our administration is on board," Sampson said in a statement to the Houston Chronicle. "(Chancellor) Renu (Khator), (UH System Board of Regents Chairman) Tilman (Fertitta) and (Vice President for Athletics) Chris Pezman) have done a great job of supporting all our programs. They have given us a chance to compete for championships. That's all a coach wants. I am proud of our team this year. The people that matter most are the players. Everything we do is for them. We have great young men who represent this university the right way. I am excited to continue to be the coach and recruit kids that our fan base can be proud of. We are excited about the future."
Houston won the AAC regular-season title in 2018-19 and advanced to the program's first Sweet 16 since 1984. The Cougars lost to Kentucky in the midwest regional semifinal.
Sampson came to Houston in 2014 after three previous stops. He coached Indiana from 2006-08 and previously served as Oklahoma's head coach from 1994–2006. Sampson has reached the NCAA tournament 16 times and guided Oklahoma to the Final Four in 2002.
The deal is pending approval by the University of Houston System Board of Regents.
