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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Monday, June 22, 2009

CBKB: Wojcik agrees to new 6-year contract at Tulsa


By MURRAY EVANS
Associated Press Writer

OKLAHOMA CITY — Tulsa basketball coach Doug Wojcik has agreed to a new six-year contract to remain with the Golden Hurricane.

Tulsa athletic director Bubba Cunningham said the new deal adds a two-year extension to Wojcik’s previous contract, which now runs through the 2014-15 season. The deal could keep Wojcik at Tulsa until he turns 51 years old.
Because Tulsa is a private school, other details of the contract were not revealed. Wojcik last received an extension two years ago.
“We’ve done this every two years,” Wojcik told The Associated Press, calling the six-year deal “a nice length of time. It’s a commitment both ways without it being over the top. We’ve always addressed it every two years. That gives me stability with recruits. I like the six. It’s a good number.”
Wojcik is 81-53 in four seasons with the Golden Hurricane. Tulsa has won at least 20 games each of the past three seasons and went 25-11 last season, reaching the second round of the National Invitation Tournament. The season before that, Tulsa went 25-14 and won the inaugural College Basketball Invitational.
“Doug has done a tremendous job with our basketball program,” Cunningham said in a statement. “He is an outstanding coach ... but what is just as important is that the Tulsa basketball team is comprised of outstanding students who have committed themselves to academic, athletic and personal growth development.”
Wojcik, a former assistant at Michigan State under Tom Izzo, became Tulsa’s coach in 2005 after the once-proud mid-major program suffered through consecutive 9-20 seasons. By his second season, the Golden Hurricane were 20-11.
Tulsa hasn’t made the NCAA field since 2003, but has played in the Conference USA tournament title game each of the past two seasons, losing to national power Memphis.
But with Memphis having lost coach John Calipari to Kentucky, and Tulsa returning the inside-outside combo of center Jerome Jordan and guard Ben Uzoh, the Golden Hurricane are a threat to end the Tigers’ dominance in the league.
“Not many people have had to deal with a program like Memphis,” Wojcik said. “I’m not saying we’re going to beat them, but they have to deal with changes. They are in transition. Four years ago, we were in transition.”