Signed, sealed and delivered.
Although head coach Rocky Long said that he and Athletics Director Paul Krebs agreed on a contract extension as early as July, the University finally made it official, announcing Long's five-year extension Tuesday.
Long's annual salary jumped from $439,000 to $750,000.
"I feel very fortunate to get an extension," Long said. "It's not going to make me coach any harder than I've been coaching, because I've been coaching as hard as I could for the last 10 years. But I think it's more of an indication of the emphasis President (David) Schmidly and Paul (have put) on improving our entire athletic program."
Under the terms of his new contract, Long is set to coach the Lobos through 2013. If Krebs had waited until the end of this season to make a decision, Long's previous contract would have expired on Dec. 31, 2009.
Long guided the Lobos to a bowl win last season and has posted a 61-61 overall record the last 10 years. Krebs said he felt it was in the best interest of the University to get the deal done quickly.
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"This is a great day for Lobo football," he said. "Certainly, this is a recognition of what coach Long has done. When I look at the football program, there are a number of things that stand out to me. The road record in the Mountain West Conference (28-17 since 2002) speaks to the tenacity and toughness of the team."
Krebs also emphasized the importance of being bowl eligible. Long has guided the program to five bowl appearances, including seven straight years of bowl eligibility. Last year, Long captured his first bowl win as the Lobos defeated Nevada 23-0 in the New Mexico Bowl.
While Long has enjoyed more success than any other Lobo football coach, he said his national aspirations for the program are the next bullet on the itinerary.
"With the increase of difficulty in our scheduling, to try to enhance our fan support and to enhance our program, it feels good to be the coach that gets to lead us into learning how to play those types of schedules," he said. "I think (playing difficult schedules) will get us to the point where we are winning conference championships.
"I always felt before that the expectations of the football program did not match the resources that were given," Long said. "It might make the expectations in everybody else's eyes more important, but it doesn't make any difference in my eyes."
Long has five more years to continue to churn the wheels of progression. Most importantly to him, he gets to do it at a place in which he is emotionally invested.
"When I first got the job, it was really the only job I wanted," he said. "I turned down two other head coaching jobs before this one was offered. In my opinion, you have to have emotional ties to a program if you're going to put the kind of time and effort to make it successful. This new contract gives me the opportunity to get that done before I leave."
UNM vs. TCU
Aug. 30 at 4 p.m.
University Stadium
