Les Miles contract amendment to go before Board of Supervisors

BATON ROUGE (Courtesy LSU)- An amendment that would extend the contract of LSU head football coach Les Miles and increase his annual compensation will be presented to the LSU Board of Supervisors on February 1, it was announced Thursday by Joe Alleva, Vice Chancellor and Director of Athletics.

"Les Miles is one of the most successful coaches in America and he has the LSU program in position to compete for championships each and every year in the most dominant football conference in the country," Alleva said.  "He recruits at an elite level, his players graduate and he is a respected member of the community.  We are proud he will lead the LSU football program for the long-term future."

In the period since 2005 when he became head coach, LSU has the most overall victories of any team in the powerful Southeastern Conference.  Miles' overall winning percentage of .802 is the fifth best mark in the history of the SEC. 

A total of 167 players have received their college degrees under Miles' watch and LSU has posted the second highest Graduation Success Rate in the SEC, trailing only Vanderbilt, each of the last two years.

Miles will receive annual compensation of $4.3 million per year for seven years under the terms of the new contract amendment, an adjustment to Miles' existing contract that pays him $3.751 million annually and was due to expire in December of 2017. The new amendment was agreed upon in principle in December.  The amendment would be effective on January 1, 2013 and extend to December 31, 2019.

Miles' annual compensation includes base salary and other compensation such as Tiger Athletic Foundation, radio, television, internet and public speaking payments.

Additionally in the proposed new amendment, LSU will pay $150,000 each year of the agreement into an account owned and controlled by LSU.  Miles can collect the funds in the account totaling $750,000 after serving the first five years of the contract.  He can collect the final $300,000 in the account if he serves the final two years of the contract.

Since becoming LSU's head coach in 2005, he has become the second-winningest coach in school history with a record of 85-21, trailing only Hall of Fame coach Charles McClendon in total victories.  He has led the Tigers to three Southeastern Conference Western Division titles, two SEC championships and the 2007 BCS National Championship.  The Tigers have finished in the top five in the nation four times under his leadership and posted the only perfect 13-0 regular season in school history in 2011.