Mississippi State, which won a school-record 27 games and finished as high as 12th in the nation this season, has extended the contract of women’s basketball coach Vic Schaefer, Director of Athletics Scott Stricklin announced Friday.
Completing his third year at MSU, Schaefer was named Southeastern Conference Coach of the Year and was named one of 10 semifinalists for Naismith National Coach of the Year Award after leading the Bulldogs to a 27-7 record (11-5 SEC) and into the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
His new, four-year contract pays the highly-personable Schaefer $625,000 in 2015-16 and averages $662,500 annually, not including incentives.
“Vic does a phenomenal job overseeing every aspect of Mississippi State’s women’s basketball program,” Stricklin said. “His ability to teach, mentor and recruit is special. And he has engaged the Bulldog Family in a manner that has produced heightened interest and record-setting attendance for women’s basketball.
“We are so proud to have Vic Schaefer at Mississippi State, and look forward seeing our women’s basketball program continue to compete at the highest level under his leadership.”
The Bulldogs set school records for overall and league wins while matching the best SEC finish in program annals with a third-place showing.
“I am very honored and humbled to be the head coach at Mississippi State University, and I appreciate very much the trust and confidence Scott (Stricklin) has shown in my staff and me in leading our women’s basketball program,” Schaefer said. “Our teams have been fun to coach and watch, and I believe the future is very bright for our program. Holly and I feel very blessed be part of this great community here in Starkville, and we truly believe the best is yet to come.”
Schaefer’s 2014-15 edition opened the year with a school-best 18-straight wins en route to claiming back-to-back 20-win seasons for just the second time in program history.
The Bulldogs, who won the program’s first Preseason WNIT championship, were the first NCAA Division I men’s or women’s team this past season to record 22 victories and one of the final three unbeaten women’s teams in the nation.
The Dawgs, who came in No. 18 in the final coaches poll, finished 12th in the Associated Press poll after rising as high as No. 11, the second-highest ranking by a Mississippi State squad.
Under his guidance, Schaefer has helped bring record crowds to Humphrey Coliseum. This season drew a school-record 67,598, bettering last season’s mark of 48,733.
State’s regular-season finale against Ole Miss drew 7,326, the largest crowd ever to watch a women’s college game in the state of Mississippi.
Under his tutelage, the Bulldogs have made a 14-win improvement in his first three seasons. The record-setting 2014-15 campaign follows a 2013-14 season that saw him take Mississippi State to a 22-14 record and the quarterfinals of the WNIT.
In three seasons in Starkville, Schaefer has become the fastest Bulldog coach to reach 62 overall wins and 21 SEC victories.
