Outgoing Northwestern AD Jim Phillips releases statement on Pat Fitzgerald's new 10-year contract
Pat Fitzgerald is going to be sticking around Evanston for quite some time, agreeing to a new 10-year contract this week that will keep him at Northwestern through the 2030 season. The news came on Wednesday.
The new contract comes immediately following Northwestern’s 7-2 season in which it claimed a second B1G West title in three seasons. The Wildcats owned of the nation’s top defensive units and saw significant improvement on the offensive side of the football.
After the news was made official, outgoing Northwestern athletic director and future ACC commissioner Jim Phillips released a statement on Fitzgerald’s new deal with the program.
“We have one of the best coaches in college football and, more importantly, a leader uncommonly suited to this University,” Phillips said. “Over the course of his tenure, Coach Fitzgerald has built a culture of unwavering belief in excellence both on and off the field, and led our Wildcats to unprecedented sustained success. They boast incredible achievement in the classroom, in the community and in competition and will for years to come.”
Statement from Combe Family VP for Athletics and Recreation Jim Phillips. #GoCats pic.twitter.com/AvpnQR44uM
— Northwestern Football (@NUFBFamily) January 27, 2021
Fitzgerald completed his 15th season as the head coach at Northwestern, taking over the program in 2006. In his tenure in Evanston, he’s compiled a 106-81 record which includes a 63-60 mark in B1G play. The Wildcats have played in 10 bowl games and are currently on a four-game bowl win streak, tied for the longest in the conference.
Northwestern has enjoyed six seasons with 8 wins or more and has hit the 10-win mark three times under Fitzgerald. The Wildcats have also claimed two B1G West titles (2018 & 2020) and have finished a season ranked in the Associated Press Top 25 on five occasions.
Fitzgerald is the second-longest tenured head football coach in the B1G, behind only Iowa’s Kirk Ferentz.