The men leading Northwestern's men's basketball and football programs have saddled up with the Wildcats for many years to come.
Chicago's Big Ten team announced multi-year extensions for football coach Pat Fitzgerald and basketball coach Chris Collins on Tuesday. Fitzgerald has signed on with his alma mater through the 2026 season while Collins's new deal expires after the 2024-25 campaign.
From a nusports.com press release with the headline Committed: Fitzgerald, Collins Sign Multi-Year Contract Extensions:
"This is home for me and my family, and I love this University," said Fitzgerald. "I'm extremely privileged to coach the exceptional young men we invite here to earn the best education in college football and compete at the highest level in the Big Ten Conference. The best is yet to come, and we're excited for the future."
"My family and I could not be more excited to be a part of the Wildcats community for many years to come," Collins said. "I have absolutely loved coaching here, the support that we've received from the University, its leadership and our fans has been exceptional. We love being a part of the Northwestern family and we can't wait to continue building on the foundation established over the last four seasons."
Fitzgerald, the program's all-time winningest coach, is 77-62 in 11 years at Northwestern. That includes a pair of 10-win seasons in 2012 and 2015. The Wildcats also set a program record with a 3.14 GPA during the 2015-16 school year, according to the press release.
Collins is 73-60 in his four years at the helm of the men's basketball program and led the Wildcats to their first NCAA Tournament berth ever this past March as part of a 24-win campaign. Northwestern topped Vanderbilt in the first round then fell to national runner-up Gonzaga by six to close its season.
Source: @NUFBFamily
