Published Feb 15, 2022
Reports: Luke Fickell, UC Agree To Extension through 2028
Sam Cooper
Yahoo Sports

Luke Fickell has once again signaled his commitment to the University of Cincinnati.

Fickell confirmed to The Athletic on Monday that he has agreed to a contract extension. According to The Athletic and ESPN, Fickell’s new deal runs through the 2028 season and increases his salary to $5 million per year.

The new deal also includes an increased salary pool for Fickell’s assistant coaches, as well as “further assurances” that a permanent indoor practice facility will be built on campus. The contract is pending approval from UC’s Board of Trustees, which is next scheduled to meet Feb. 22.

From The Athletic:

It replaces Fickell’s previous extension, which was approved in August 2020, ran through 2026 and paid the head coach $3.4 million per year. The new deal represents a $1.6 million increase in Fickell’s annual salary and an increase in staff salary pool from $3.85 million per year to $5.2 million per year, according to sources.
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Fickell has been the head coach at Cincinnati for the past five seasons. Over that span, the Bearcats have amassed a 48-15 record with a 29-9 mark in American Athletic Conference play. And more than half of those losses came in Fickell’s first season. Over the last four seasons, Cincinnati has a combined 44-7 record with just three losses versus AAC competition.

The Bearcats went undefeated in the regular season in both 2020 and 2021. In 2020, UC lost to Georgia in the Peach Bowl. In 2021, UC went 12-0, won the AAC title and became the first program from a Group of Five conference to reach the College Football Playoff. As the No. 4 seed, Cincinnati lost in the semifinals to No. 1 seed Alabama.

As a result of that success, Fickell’s name has constantly come up whenever high-profile college football jobs have opened. All the while, Fickell has opted to remain at Cincinnati.

He has helped raise the program’s profile immensely, so much so that it has accepted an invitation to join the Big 12. The Bearcats are expected to begin Big 12 play in the 2023 season.

According to ESPN, only two current Big 12 coaches — Oklahoma’s Brent Venables and Texas’ Steve Sarkisian — have a higher salary than Fickell’s new one. Oklahoma and Texas, of course, are leaving the Big 12 for the SEC, though it’s unclear exactly when they will make the move. The Big 12’s current media rights deal expires June 30, 2025, but UT and OU could attempt to leave for the SEC early.