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SALT LAKE CITY — Kyle Whittingham isn’t going anywhere for the foreseeable future.
The University of Utah’s head football coach signed a contract extension Monday that will keep him with the program through December 2023, Mark Harlan, the university’s director of athletics, announced.
“Coach Whittingham is one of the top coaches in college football and extending his contract was a high priority in my first year here,” Harlan said in a statement. “Kyle’s teams compete for championships on the field and in the classroom, and his loyalty to the University of Utah has made this a great partnership.”
The contract extension comes on the day Utah opened up its spring football camp and is a sign of stability for the program and its longest-tenured coach in school history. Whittingham is the third-longest tenured coach in college football and the longest in the Pac-12 as he enters his 15th season as the head coach.
Whittingham was expected to receive approximately $3.23 million this season based on a contract extension in 2016. Terms of his new extension, though, were not immediately released Monday.
“On behalf of our entire coaching staff, we are grateful to both Mark Harlan and President Ruth Watkins for this vote of confidence in our football program,” Whittingham said in a statement. “The university’s support is critical to our long-term success and this sends a positive message to our recruits, which are the lifeblood of any program.”
Whittingham’s team enters the 2019 season as the perceived favorite to repeat as the South Division champion and a strong contender to win the Pac-12. Utah is also expected to be a preseason Top 25 team in the Associated Press poll.
The longtime coach is 120-61 all time and 11-2 in bowl games in 14 seasons with Utah. His 11 bowl victories are tied for second among active coaches.
Whittingham has coached at the University of Utah for 25 years, first joining the program in 1994 as a defensive line coach. He took over as the program's head man on Dec. 8, 2004, after Urban Meyer left to coach Florida.
