Dabo Swinney gets 8-year deal
— -- Clemson coach Dabo Swinney agreed Saturday to a new eight-year deal worth $27.15 million, keeping him with the Tigers through the 2021 season.
The Clemson University Board of Trustees Compensation Committee approved the terms Saturday morning. Swinney will make $3.15 million in 2014, up from the $2.2 million he earned this past season, will have more money available to pay his assistants and has a $5 million buyout if he decides to leave Clemson during the first three seasons of the deal.
Swinney has scheduled pay raises of $3.3 million in 2015 and $3.45 million starting in 2016. If Clemson wins the ACC championship in 2014, '15 or '16, his salary will jump to $3.5 million the following year. He has the opportunity to earn even more based on incentives, ranging from bowl appearances to a spot in the upcoming College Football Playoff.
"Dabo is one of the top coaches not only in the ACC but in the entire nation," Clemson athletic director Dan Radakovich said in a statement. "His teams have succeeded on the field, in the classroom and in the community. We're excited to have him lead our program for a long time into the future."
Swinney, headed into his sixth full season as coach, has gone 51-23 at Clemson, including 33-12 in the ACC. The Tigers have won 10 or more games in three straight seasons, the first time that has happened at the school since 1988-90. That includes back-to-back 11-win seasons and a first BCS win, over Ohio State in the Discover Orange Bowl earlier this month. Clemson has five victories against teams ranked in the top 10 in the last three years; only Alabama and Oklahoma have more (six each).
Off the field, Clemson has finished among the nation's top 10 in the NCAA Academic Progress Report each of the last three years. Swinney's also has emphasized community service. Dabo's All-In Foundation, with a mission to raise awareness of critical education and health issues to help people across the state of South Carolina, has donated and pledged nearly $1 million to local organizations in the past four years.
"I'm extremely excited and appreciative for the opportunity to continue to build our program under the leadership of President Jim Clements and our athletic director Dan Radakovich," Swinney said in a statement. "The future of Clemson University is extremely bright and the future of our football program is as well. While we have accomplished many goals, we still have several out there to reach and we will continue to work to get there. Kathleen and I are looking forward to continuing to be a part of the great community of Clemson, the Upstate and the state of South Carolina."
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