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UK's Mumme gets new 5-year contract
Posted: Thursday December 31, 1998 10:31 PM
TAMPA, Florida (AP) -- Hal Mumme, who led Kentucky to its first New Year's Day bowl in nearly a half-century, was rewarded Thursday with a new five-year, $4 million contract. The contract, which takes effect Friday, runs through December 31, 2003, and replaces a $450,000-a-year deal that would have run through 2002. "The contract represents a long-term commitment by both the University of Kentucky and coach Mumme in our continued effort to build and sustain a championship football program," Kentucky athletic director C.M. Newton said in a statement. "The commitment shows our desire to keep coach Mumme as our football coach and to compensate him financially in a way that represents the marketplace for head coaches in the Southeastern Conference." Mumme, who led the Wildcats to a 7-4 record this season that was the team's best since 1984, expressed satisfaction with a deal that will keep him and his wife, June, at Kentucky. "June and I love the University of Kentucky and the commonwealth," he said. "The signing of this contract serves notice that we are staying at UK. I hope this puts an end to any speculation about me being interested in any other positions at the present time and the future." In two seasons, Mumme's pass-happy, gambling-style offense has revived interest in Kentucky football, which had ebbed in the final years under Mumme's predecessor, Bill Curry. The Wildcats set attendance records in 1997, Mumme's first season, when the team was 5-6, beating in-state rival Louisville and getting the first victory over Alabama in 75 years. This year, Kentucky beat Louisville again, and got its first road victory over a ranked opponent in 21 years, at LSU. There would have been more attendance records set this year if the school had not torn down the south end zone bleachers at Commonwealth Stadium for an expansion that will increase capacity to 67,000 next season. The Outback Bowl will mark Kentucky's first appearance in a January 1 bowl since 1952, when Bear Bryant coached the Wildcats to the Cotton Bowl. Prior to Thursday's announcement of the new contract, Mumme had been asked about being mentioned as a rising "coaching genius" in reports about NFL coaching vacancies. "I'm not sure the word `genius' and `football coach' should be used in the same sentence," Mumme said. "They hired us at Kentucky to do this," he said of taking the Wildcats to a January 1 bowl, then added, "I have the best job in the world."
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