The University of Oregon will retain one of the nation’s top athletics directors, and the athletics department will keep its highly successful head football coach, thanks to a new contract agreements signed this week.
Athletic Director Rob Mullens, who Forbes magazine recently called “the man behind the Decade of the Ducks,” will stay with UO through October 2019 under a new five-year contract agreement. Head football coach Mark Helfrich, who took the Ducks to the College Football Playoff Championship, has also agreed to a new contract that will retain the coach through the 2019 season.
Interim UO President Scott Coltrane praised Mullens’ leadership and said he is completely supportive of Mullens’ move to reward Helfrich’s success with a five-year contract extension.
“In his four years with the University of Oregon, Rob Mullens has proven himself a leader on campus, in the Pac-12 and in all of college athletics,” Coltrane said. “His accomplishments speak for themselves. He ushered in an era of academic success and financial efficiency while leading UO teams to 11 national championship wins”
Mullens’ new $700,000 annual salary will move him just above the midpoint of salaries among his public Pac-12 peers. Coltrane called the amount “more than appropriate” given Mullens’ diversity of success and the way he helped turn Oregon athletics into one of the most recognizable brands in collegiate sports.
“The success of our athletic program is truly the result of a team dynamic,” Mullens said. “I can’t begin to express my appreciation for the support I’ve received from our staff, leadership, our supporters and our fans. My family and I look forward to continuing to be Ducks.”
Mullens has presided over one of the most successful eras in the University of Oregon’s history, with Duck student-athletes setting records both on the field and in the classroom. He has guided Oregon to the top 15 nationally in the Directors’ Cup, a national assessment of an athletic department’s overall achievements.
At the same time, Mullens has improved the Ducks’ academic standards so that the university now averages more than 100 academic all-conference selections annually.
In addition, Oregon’s philosophy of fiscal efficiency during Mullens’ tenure has been recognized nationwide. The university is one of only a handful of institutions in the country whose athletic department is self-sufficient as Oregon’s recognition continues to grow. The budget is nearly $98 million.
The total value of the athletic department’s new contract with Helfrich is for a guaranteed sum of $17.5 million spread over five years for an annual average of $3.5 million. Helfrich will be guaranteed $3.15 million during the 2015 season, with his salary increasing on a sliding scale to a maximum of $3.8 million during the final year of the agreement in 2019-20.
Incentives tied to the Ducks’ on-field performance and student-athlete academic success will remain in the contract. The extension runs through Jan. 31, 2020. As with all other university intercollegiate coaches and staff, funding for Helfrich's contract comes solely from athletic department funds, with the department receiving no direct institutional support.
"Mark has provided tremendous leadership of our football program and the values and character that he insists upon are in line with our mission as an institution," Mullens said. "The success of our student-athletes on the field and in the classroom will continue with Mark's leadership and we are thrilled that he will stay at home in Oregon for a long time to come."
Helfrich, a Coos Bay native who graduated for Southern Oregon University, has coached at the UO since 2009, first as offensive coordinator and then as head coach. Additional detail about Helfrich’s contract is available at GoDucks.com.
— By Tobin J. Klinger, Public Affairs Communications