Though he will not coach a game until 2017, Bill Clark agreed with the University of Alabama - Birmingham (UAB) on a five-year contract extension.
The school plans to formally announce the agreement at a press conference Wednesday at 4:30 p.m. on the Campus Green, UAB athletics said in a statement. The school called the presser a "celebration" and noted it will double as a pep rally.
Regardless, the UAB Blazers will not play football again until 2017 when they officially rejoin the Conference USA. The program was shut down toward the end of the season last year, but was resurrected thanks to enthusiastic and efficient fundraising efforts.
"The university looks forward to the next phase of UAB Football. We will continue raising philanthropic support needed for facilities and will move forward with our plan to play a complete FBS schedule as a full member of Conference USA in 2017," Mark Ingram, UAB's athletic director, said in a news release. "I am as happy as our fans, alumni, donors and community that Bill Clark will continue to be our coach. This is another day of celebration for UAB, with many more to come."
Clark took over the Blazers in 2014, leading them to a 6-6 overall record. The announcement that UAB would shut down its football program came on the tail end of Clark's first season, though various reports indicated the school knew about it well beforehand.
According to The Associated Press, Clark will make an average annual salary of $605,000 under the five-year extension, which was unanimously approved by the school's trustee compensation committee.
"My family and I want to thank UAB, Mark Ingram, Dr. Ray Watts and the Board of Trustees for their commitment to me as UAB's head football coach. We are doing this and doing it right - today's announcement sends that message loud and clear," Clark said in the release. "To all UAB supporters and family, thank you. I appreciate each and every one of you, what you've done, and continue to do, to support our program and I am proud to be your coach.
"We need you now more than ever to help write the next chapter of UAB football. For my part, I am matching my previous gift and paying it immediately."
