Gophers athletic director Mark Coyle will receive a two-year contract extension through 2030 and an annual raise of $324,000, pending Board of Regents approval at its meeting next Thursday and Friday.

Coyle’s annual average salary of $1.4 million will remain in the top third of Big Ten athletic directors. Ohio State’s Ross Bjork receives just over $2 million in average annual compensation, which is the most in the Big Ten. Coyle’s new deal would be comparable with the amounts that Nebraska’s Trev Alberts and Illinois’ Josh Whitman make under agreements reached in November.

Coyle, 55, has been with Minnesota since 2016 and ranks fourth among the 14 Big Ten athletic directors in longevity at their school. He declined to comment about his contract since it’s not yet final.

Coyle has made prominent coaching hires in football, men’s and women’s basketball, and men’s hockey. P.J. Fleck has led the Gophers football team to an 11-2 season in 2019 and two other nine-win seasons. Bob Motzko’s men’s hockey team reached the NCAA title game last year and the Frozen Four semifinals in 2022.

In men’s basketball, Ben Johnson endured two losing years before improving to 13-7 so far this season. Coyle’s hiring of former Gophers women’s basketball great Lindsay Whalen didn’t pan out, with the Gophers going 32-58 in Big Ten play. Under new coach Dawn Plitzuweit, whom Coyle hired from West Virginia, the Gophers are 14-7 this season.

“I think it’s awesome,” Johnson said of Coyle’s new deal Friday. “I don’t think people realize how hard his job is. For what he’s able to do with consistency and understanding this place, understanding Minnesota, understanding how it works here and the landscape of college athletics, I think he’s done a phenomenal job.

“It’s like you can’t have a revolving door of leadership. A guy who has a ton of respect across the country, to have him here and it being stable for the years upon years is only going to help every sports team here.”

Coyle’s raise to $1.4 million will be effective upon Regents approval but will not be paid immediately. Rather, most of the increase will be paid as an enhanced longevity bonus beginning in 2026. Coyle will continue to receive step increases of 2.5% to 3% or merit pool increases, whichever percentage is larger.

“Given the exceptional performance he consistently demonstrates in the role, the growing demand for [athletic directors] who possess his personal character and professional experience, and the new and complex challenges facing collegiate athletics in 2024, the total compensation of this amended contract ... is appropriately in line with a rapidly changing AD market,” the Regents docket says.

The buyout terms for both Coyle and the university have been amended.

If the university terminates the contract without cause on or before June 30, 2028, it will owe Coyle 100% of the base salary through the contract’s full term.

If Coyle terminates the contract on or before June 30, 2026, he will pay 100% of the base salary through the full term. If Coyle terminates between July 1, 2026, and June 30, 2028, he will pay the university $1 million.

If a termination occurs after July 1, 2028, neither party would be entitled to a termination/buyout fee.

Coyle will continue to receive supplemental retirement contributions of $150,000 with increases of $5,000 each year. The new contract extends the contributions for two years.

The contract also states that by Aug. 1, 2028, the parties would use their best efforts to negotiate a new contract.

Gophers staff writer Marcus Fuller contributed to this report.