Clemson, Purnell agree to 2-year extension

Jun 16, 2009 - 8:27 PM By PETE IACOBELLI AP Sports Writer

COLUMBIA, S.C.(AP) -- Clemson coach Oliver Purnell has agreed to a two-year contract extension that will keep him with the Tigers through 2016.

While the deal hasn't been signed, Purnell and athletic director Terry Don Phillips have signed a memorandum of understanding dated June 1 that outlines the improved package.

Purnell's base salary jumped $50,000 a year to $275,000. His supplemental income improved to $1.075 million each year, up from $775,000 guaranteed in a two-year extension agreed to in 2008.

Purnell will also receive deferred compensation of $250,000 a year in 2015 and 2016, money the coach would receive unless he left the school voluntarily or was fired for cause.

The Tigers coach would owe the school $250,000 if he left after April 30 for another Division I head coaching job. That payback amount would increase by $250,000 each year until reaching $1.5 million should Purnell depart for a Division I job after April 30, 2015.

Purnell has gradually turned Clemson into one of the Atlantic Coast Conference's top programs, improving the team's winning percentage each of the last five years.

The Tigers have gone 25-11, 24-10 and 23-9 the past three seasons, the school's longest-ever streak of 20-win seasons. The 72 wins in that span trail only Duke and North Carolina in the ACC.

In 2007, Purnell led Clemson to the NIT finals before falling to West Virginia. The next season, the Tigers reached the championship game of the ACC tournament for the first time since 1962 and qualified for the NCAAs for the first time in a decade.