FROM CBB NEWS SOURCE
PULLMAN, Wash. – Washington State University Director of Athletics Bill Moos announced today that Cougar Head Baseball Coach Donnie Marbut has signed a three-year rollover contract that will keep him in Pullman through at least the 2013 season.
"Donnie and his staff have done a tremendous job bringing Cougar baseball back to national prominence and for that they should be rewarded," said Moos. "During his tenure as WSU’s head coach the program has improved each year on the field and in the classroom. He has embraced the Cougars’ storied history by reconnecting with former players and bringing them back into the program while his vision and passion for the future cannot be matched. We have one of the best coaches in the country and this contract reflects the University’s commitment and belief that continued success is on the horizon."
Marbut’s contract calls for a base salary of $170,000 for each of the three years, and includes a rollover option that by mutual agreement at the end of each season extends the contract an additional year. Additionally, Marbut will receive incentive compensation based upon conference finish, postseason play and Pacific-10 and National Coach of the Year honors.
Additionally, Cougar Assistant Coaches Gregg Swenson and Spencer Allen each received base salary increases and incentives for conference finish and postseason play. A baseball operations coordinator position was also created and Lindsey Weber was hired to fill those duties.
"I want to thank Dr. Floyd and Bill Moos for extending me and my assistants these contracts," said Marbut. "Before I signed it was important to make sure the program continued to get better and the assistants be rewarded. The only way to build a program is with great people and I have been lucky enough to coach with great assistants. Not only did Bill make sure our assistants were rewarded, he added to our staff by creating a baseball operations position, which we sorely needed.
"Bill and I also share a common vision that coaching at Washington State is not a stepping stone, it is a destination and a place I would like to coach at for a long, long time," Marbut continued. "He and Dr. Floyd have made that dream come true."
Since taking over the head coaching duties in 2004, Marbut has guided the Cougars to five consecutive winning seasons, three-straight 30-win seasons for the first time since 1992-94, along with back-to-back postseason appearances for the first time since 1987-88. Over the past two seasons the Cougars have recorded the second-best record (34-20) in conference play and the second-best home record (44-11) among Pac-10 schools.
In the classroom WSU has collected 33 All-Pac-10 Academic awards during Marbut tenure, including 13 first-team recipients. The Cougars have won the Pac-10 Scholar-Athlete award for baseball each of the last three seasons and have raised their single-season Academic Performance Review (APR) score from 85.3 percent in 2003-04, the year before Marbut arrived, to 98.4 percent in 2008-09, the highest in school history.
