Les Miles’ raise goes to LSU board on Feb. 1
The proposed new contract for LSU football coach Les Miles calls for an average annual salary increase from $3.751 million to $4.3 million over the seven-year term, the school announced Thursday.
The new deal, which Miles and Vice Chancellor and Director of Athletics Joe Alleva agreed to in December, will be presented to the LSU Board of Supervisors at its Feb. 1 meeting.
The agreement was reached in December in the immediate aftermath of Arkansas contacting Miles about its then-vacant head coaching position, but Alleva said at the time that the new deal was in the works
before the Razorbacks
approached Miles. Arkansas later hired Wisconsin coach Bret Bielema.
LSU, which was ranked No. 1 in one preseason poll, finished No. 14 in the final Associated Press poll after a last-second 25-24 loss to Clemson in the Chick-fil-A Bowl on Dec. 31 dropped the Tigers to 10-3.
Since the end of the season a record 11 underclassmen, counting former All-America cornerback Tyrann Mathieu, who was kicked off the team last August, declared for early entry into the NFL draft in April.
But LSU is poised to land one of the top recruiting classes in the country on National Signing
Day in two weeks, which would help mitigate the loss of underclassmen.
“Les Miles is one of the most successful coaches in America and he has the LSU program in position to compete for championships each and every year in the most dominant football conference (the Southeastern Conference) in the country,” Alleva said in a statement released by LSU. “He recruits at an elite level, his players graduate and he is a respected member of the community. We are proud he will lead the LSU football program for the long-term future.”
The Tigers have won 34 games during the last three seasons and have the most overall victories among Southeastern Conference teams during Miles’ tenure, which began in 2005. His overall winning percentage of .802 is the fifth-best mark in the history of the SEC.
LSU has had the second-highest Graduation Success Rate in the SEC, trailing Vanderbilt, each of the last two years, and 167 players have received their college degrees under Miles’ watch.
Miles’ existing contract was due to expire in December of 2017, and the new deal would be effective on Jan. 1, 2013 and extend to Dec. 31, 2019.
His annual compensation includes base salary and other compensation such as Tiger Athletic Foundation, radio, television, Internet and public speaking payments.
Additionally in the proposed new amendment, LSU will pay $150,000 each year of the agreement into an account owned and controlled by LSU. Miles can collect the funds in the account totaling $750,000 after serving the first five years of the contract.
He can collect the final $300,000 in the account if he serves the final two years of the contract.
Miles is the second-winningest coach in school history with a record of 85-21, trailing only Hall of Fame coach Charles McClendon in total victories. He has led the Tigers to three SEC Western Division titles, two SEC championships and the 2007 BCS National Championship.
The Tigers have finished in the top five in the nation four times under his leadership and had the only perfect 13-0 regular season in school history in 2011 before losing to Alabama (21-0) in the BCS Championship game.