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Luke Fickell contract: Cincinnati coach grabs Power Five-level extension at $5 million annually, per reports

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1 year ago

February 14, 2022

Cincinnati coach Luke Fickell has agreed to a contract extension that will make him one of the highest-paid coaches in the Group of Five, according to multiple reports.

The extension will reportedly pay Fickell $5 million per year through 2028, a massive raise from his previous contract that paid him $3.4 million through 2026. Pending approval from UC’s board of trustees on Feb. 22, the deal will also increase his assistant salary pool from $3.9 million to $5.2 million.

Fickell’s deal gives him the highest reported base salary among all Group of Five coaches, passing the $4.2 million deal Dana Holgorsen signed with Houston. But Holgorsen recently agreed to a contract extension of his own, and while numbers have not been publicly reported, a new salary could also push $5 million.

Cincinnati has reached new heights since Fickell took over the program in 2017 from Tommy Tuberville. Following a transitional 4-8 debut, Fickell has led the program to a 44-7 record over the past four seasons with back-to-back AAC Championships. The Bearcats became the first ever Group of Five squad to reach the College Football Playoff in 2021.

The Bearcats are one of three AAC teams set to join the Big 12 Conference with a move expected by 2023. Houston and UCF join BYU as new additions to the power conference as well.

Building long term

When Cincinnati hired Fickell, the program had not earned a national ranking since Butch Jones was head coach in 2012. The Bearcats had just one top-10 finish in program history — 2009 — and it was impressive enough to earn Brian Kelly the Notre Dame job.

Fickell has brought unmatched consistency to the program, which has enjoyed four straight ranked finishes in the AP Top 25 and back-to-back AAC titles. Keeping Fickell happy is key. And in addition to increasing his profile, pushing Fickell’s assistant salary into the upper tier of Power Five programs gives him the pieces to be successful.

Stepping up to the plate

It’s no coincidence that Cincinnati (and Houston) are reaching into their pockets and offering their well-regarded coaches Power Five-level deals. The Bearcats, after all, are set to join the power conferences when they jump to the Big 12.

Fickell’s salary would have been fourth-highest in the Big 12 in 2021, narrowly behind Steve Sarkisian’s $5.4 million contract at Texas. Fickell would have trailed only Clemson’s Dabo Swinney in the ACC, tied with Scott Frost (Nebraska) and Kirk Ferentz (Iowa) for No. 5 in the Big Ten, and cleared Clay Helton (ex-USC) and Mario Cristobal (ex-Oregon) for No. 4 in the Pac-12.

Following a chaotic coaching silly season, highlighted by Lincoln Riley’s move to USC and Brian Kelly’s switch to LSU, Cincinnati is breathing a sigh of relief that it managed to keep Fickell. But to do that, it needed to dig deep in its pockets to keep his salary competitive at the Power Five level.

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Related Topics:annually Cincinnati coach contract Extension Fickell Fivelevel grabs Luke million Power Reports

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Avon’s OT winner lifts Petes to win over Blazers, Memorial Cup semifinal berth

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4 hours ago

June 2, 2023

nigemord@gmail.com

KAMLOOPS, B.C. — J.R. Avon scored the game-winning goal 10:54 into overtime and the Peterborough Petes beat the Kamloops Blazers 5-4 on Thursday, earning a semifinal berth at the Memorial Cup.

Connor Lockhart, Brennan Othmann, Samuel Mayer and Brian Zanetti had the others for Ontario Hockey League champion Peterborough. Michael Simpson made 43 saves.

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Logan Stankoven, Olen Zellweger, Harrison Brunicke and Logan Bairos replied for host Kamloops. Dylan Ernst stopped 25 shots.

The Petes will next meet the Western Hockey League champion Seattle Thunderbirds in Friday’s semifinal for a chance to face the Quebec Remparts in the final on Sunday.

The Quebec Major Junior Hockey League champion Remparts earned a berth into the final after opening the tournament with wins over Kamloops and Seattle.

Quebec later fell to Peterborough — which staved off elimination and forced Thursday’s tiebreaker with the victory — 4-2 on Tuesday in both teams’ final round-robin game.

Lockhart opened the scoring 7:52 into the first period. Chase Lefebvre sent the puck across the end boards to Jax Dubois, who found Lockhart with a slick pass into the slot and he beat Ernst five-hole.

Stankoven evened it up 11:20 into the frame, sending the Sandman Centre crowd into a frenzy. Connor Levis took a point shot and the rebound came out to the Blazers captain, who scored his second of the tournament.

Zellweger put Kamloops ahead 12:45 into the frame on the power play. The CHL Defenceman of the Year nominee saved the puck from getting out of the Petes’ zone, moved into the slot and wired one past Simpson for his first.

With 2:27 remaining in the first, Brunicke piled it on for the Blazers. Peterborough’s Konnor Smith attempted to clear it from the end boards but the puck ended up with Brunicke at the point, where he got around a defender and beat Simpson just over his right shoulder with little room to spare.

Bairos gave Kamloops a 4-1 edge 4:23 into the middle frame. He fired a point shot that ricocheted off Simpson’s blocker, then over him and in.

Just over three minutes later, the Petes began to swing the momentum back in their favour.

Othmann stripped Bairos of the puck as the Blazers defenceman tried to skate out of his own zone. Othmann then turned around and roofed it past Ernst as he fell to one knee.

Mayer made it a one-goal game on the power play with 2:23 left in the second. He took a pass from Lockhart and fired in a one-timer from the point.

Zanetti knotted the contest just over a minute later. He tipped in a pass from Tucker Robertson while streaking toward the net and beat Ernst five-hole.

Both sides struggled to capitalize on prime scoring opportunities leading to a scoreless third period and extra time to settle the winner.

Following a dazzling effort by Zellweger that just missed, Owen Beck took the puck up ice for Peterborough and dropped it off for Avon, who put it past Ernst to seal the win.

WE MEET AGAIN

Kamloops defeated Peterborough 10-2 when the two last met on Sunday. But with 7:05 remaining in that game, Othmann laid a hit on Blazers defenceman Kyle Masters, who fell awkwardly into the boards.

Masters had to be stretchered off the ice and was taken to Royal Inland Hospital. Head coach and general manager Shaun Clouston said Monday that the blue liner was out for the tournament with a lower-body injury.