Memphis, Justin Fuente agree to new five-year contract starting at $1.4M

Memphis and coach Justin Fuente have agreed to a five-year contract starting at $1.4 million per season.

Memphis coach Justin Fuente led the Tigers to a share of the American Athletic Conference championship. Now, the school is rewarding him for it.

A source with knowledge of the situation said Memphis and Fuente have agreed to a five-year contract starting at $1.4 million per season. The contract goes up by $25,000 per year for each year of the deal. The buyout remains unchanged at $500,000. Fuente made around $1 million in 2014.

Also included in the agreement is an addition of $150,000 to the salary pool for assistant coaches.

Fuente, 38, led Memphis to a 9-3 campaign this fall and secured the school’s first bowl bid since 2008 and first conference title since 1971. His name surfaced in multiple coaching searches this year, as his success at Memphis and background under Gary Patterson at TCU have made him an attractive candidate.

Memphis plays BYU (8-4) in the Miami Beach Bowl on Dec. 22.

date	opponent	result
Aug. 30	Austin Peay	W, 63-0
Sept. 6	at UCLA	L, 42-35
Sept. 20	Middle Tennessee	W, 36-17
Sept. 27	at Ole Miss	L, 24-3
Oct. 4	at Cincinnati	W, 41-14
Oct. 11	Houston	L, 28-24
Oct. 25	at SMU	W, 48-10
Oct. 31	Tulsa	W, 40-20
Nov. 7	at Temple	W, 16-13
Nov. 15	at Tulane	W, 38-7
Nov. 22	South Florida	W, 31-20
Nov. 29	Connecticut	W, 41-10
Dec. 22	BYU	?