Mario Cristobal will now coach the Oregon Duck football program through the 2026 season.
That announcement was made Thursday morning by Oregon athletic director Rob Mullens.
“Mario has been a tremendous leader, and we are excited that he will continue to lead Oregon Football,” said Mullens.
“He has built a strong culture and foundation within our program in a very short period of time and I am confident we will continue to build upon the success we have experienced so far and reach even greater heights. We look forward to the future of Oregon Football under Mario’s continued leadership.”
Cristobal took the reigns of the football program back in 2017 after some significant lobbying from the players on the team. He was formally announced as full-time head football coach on December 8, 2017 shortly after Willie Taggart left town to accept the Florida State head coaching position. Just eight days later, Cristobal led Oregon to the Las Vegas Bowl against Boise State, which the Ducks lost 38-28.
Since that time in three seasons, Cristobal has gone 24-9 overall and 16-7 in conference play and has the Ducks on the verge of a second consecutive Pac-12 championship.
Cristobal’s new deal is worth $27.3 million in base salary through the course of the contract. His annual salary of $2.7 million will now raise to $4.3 million which begins on Jan. 15, 2021. Each year his annual salary will increase by $100,000 and a $150,000 bump in his final year.
According to the USA Today coaches salary database, Cristobal’s current salary ranked 11th in the Pac-12.
“I am humbled and honored to be part of the best college football program in the country,” said Cristobal.
“The tremendous commitment from the University and our administration to our student-athletes, coaches, and support staff is unmatched and has been unwavering since day one. I am grateful to President Schill and Rob Mullens for all of their support and for entrusting our staff with the future of Oregon Football. We are just getting started, and I am fired up to relentlessly work and build upon the success so far. We are privileged to call Oregon home, and we love the sense of family and community here at Oregon. We will continue to work tirelessly to elevate the Oregon football program to the next level, and we can’t wait to see the best fans in the nation back in Autzen Stadium next fall. Go Ducks!”
Because of the significant shortfall of money due to the pandemic, Mullens stressed to the Board of Trustees that the raise due to Cristobal will be funded by private athletic gifts.
Oregon (3-2) will travel Thursday to Los Angeles to continue their preparations for Friday’s match-up with USC ( 5-0 ) for the Pac-12 Title. The game will be televised on Fox-TV and kickoff at 5:00 PM PST.