HOT: Extension for Kennedy at Ole Miss

On the heels of an NCAA Tournament appearance and SEC Tournament Championship, Ole Miss head basketball coach Andy Kennedy’s contract has been extended to run through 2017, Athletics Director Ross Bjork announced Friday.

Kennedy’s four-year deal is the longest allowed by the state of Mississippi and includes a base salary of $1.8 million, which ranks seventh among SEC head coaches. It also includes incentives for SEC regular season and NCAA postseason success and a 40 percent increase in the investment of assistant coach and basketball support staff salaries.

The all-time winningest coach in Ole Miss history, Kennedy guided the Rebels to the SEC Tournament Championship and the school’s first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2002 this season. Ole Miss tied the school record with 27 wins and led the SEC in scoring for the first time in school history as Kennedy earned SEC Coach of the Year honors.

Kennedy has led the Rebels to a 152-87 record in his seven seasons as head coach and is the only coach in Ole Miss history to post six 20-plus win seasons and lead his squad to six postseason berths. He has posted the fourth-most wins in SEC history by a coach in his first seven years in the league at one school, trailing just Rick Pitino (184), Wimp Sanderson (155) and Joe B. Hall (154). Kennedy is also just the fifth coach in SEC history with 20-plus wins in six of his first seven seasons in the conference at one school.

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