Dec. 19, 2005

COLLEGE PARK, Md. - - - University of Maryland men's basketball coach Gary Williams, who led the Terps to the 2002 National Championship and the 2004 ACC Championship, has signed a new contract which significantly enhances the guaranteed financial terms of his previous agreement, Maryland Director of Athletics Deborah A. Yow announced today.

In addition, the bonus portions of the new contract now include considerably enhanced amounts for academic achievement and competitive excellence. Academic bonuses may be earned when specific graduation rate percentages are achieved. The competitive bonuses are tied to ACC regular-season accomplishments.

Williams will earn a guaranteed annual salary of $1.6 million for 2005-06. If all academic and athletic incentives were met, Williams would earn the maximum possible compensation of $2.3 million for the current fiscal year.

"We are pleased to further recognize Gary's coaching achievements on behalf of Maryland men's basketball," said Yow. "This new contract ensures that his compensation will be commensurate to that of the most highly-achieving coaches in the nation for the foreseeable future.

"This season promises to be a special one as four seniors try to lead us back to the NCAA Tournament and pursue another ACC Championship."

The new contract also allows for up to four years extension if baseline academic and competitive benchmarks are met in each of the remaining four years of the current 10-year deal, which runs through May 31, 2009. The extension could expand the terms of the deal to May 31, 2013.

Williams' contract will be extended by one year (past May, 2009) when Maryland is selected for the NCAA Tournament and either the team achieves the annual NCAA Academic Progress Rate (APR) cut score or the scholarship student-athletes on the basketball team earn an average of 27 academic credits per year.

"I am very pleased to be able to continue working at this great University," said Williams. "I am looking forward to achieving the high personal goals I have set for myself and the program, in both the academic and basketball areas."

Williams has led the Terps to unprecedented success during his 16-plus seasons as Maryland's head coach, including 12 straight postseason appearances, seven trips to the Sweet Sixteen since 1994, two Final Fours and the 2002 National Championship. In the last nine years, Maryland has averaged 23.6 wins per season, including eight consecutive 20-win seasons from 1996-2004.

With his 341-180 career mark at Maryland, Williams currently ranks second among active ACC coaches and is just eight victories shy of becoming the Terps' all-time winningest basketball coach (Lefty Driesell, 348 wins). He is only the sixth coach of an ACC program to reach the 300-win plateau. The 1968 Maryland Alum and former Terp point guard is the 11th-winningest active Division I coach with a career record of 548-308.

The national APR calculation was recently modified so that student-athletes who leave school early to compete professionally will no longer be counted against an institution's score. In addition, any student-athlete who returns and completes his degree will earn a bonus point for the team's APR calculation in the semester in which he graduates.

The next NCAA report on APR scores will be released in January of 2006. The Maryland men's basketball team is expected to exceed the baseline APR cut score of 925.