HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — Connecticut has given men’s basketball coach Kevin Ollie a five-year contract extension.
A news conference with Ollie and athletic director Warde Manuel was scheduled for 5 p.m. Saturday before the Huskies play Washington.
A person in the athletic department confirmed the length of the contract, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak before the news conference. He said the deal, which runs through the 2017-18 season, was being signed Saturday afternoon.
Ollie, who turned 40 on Thursday, was given just a one-year contract in September after Hall of Fame coach Jim Calhoun retired. He has led UConn to a 9-2 record despite losing five underclassmen from last year’s team after it was announced that the Huskies were academically ineligible for the upcoming postseason.
Ollie, who played point guard for Calhoun from 1991-95, was his former coach’s hand-picked successor. He became an assistant at UConn in 2010, after 13 years as an NBA journeyman. He had never been a head coach on any level.
Ollie has quickly established himself with his upbeat and energetic style, running practices that focus on conditioning and accountability.
