PISCATAWAY, N.J. — Hall of Fame women’s basketball coach C. Vivian Stringer has agreed to a five-year contract extension that will keep her at Rutgers through the 2025-26 season.
The New Jersey-based Big Ten Conference university announced the deal on Wednesday after it was approved by the school’s board of governors.
Stringer, 73, has led the Scarlet Knights to a top-three finish in the conference in two of the past three seasons, and a pair of NCAA Tournament appearances.
“Coach Stringer has had an immeasurable impact on the lives of the many women who have come through our program over the years,” Rutgers athletic director Pat Hobbs said. “She is a giant in the world of college athletics and beyond. Her many accomplishments – 1,000 wins, Final Four appearances, being inducted into several halls of fame, and countless awards and honors speak for themselves.”
The contract guarantees compensation of $5.5 million, beginning at $1 million in the first year, plus performance incentives and retention bonuses. Stringer, who signed a four-year extension before the 2017-18 season, will enter her 27th season at Rutgers.
“Vivian Stringer has set the standard of excellence both on the court and off,” Rutgers President Jonathan Holloway said. “She is an icon in her field. Rutgers is blessed to have her among our roster of great coaches, and I am thrilled that we were able to negotiate a new contract for coach Stringer.”
Stringer said she is looking forward to trying to win championships while developing, mentoring, and teaching young women for life in and around the game of basketball.
“This is what I love to do, and I do it today with as much care and passion as when I began,” she said.
Stringer is the first women’s coach to lead three different programs to the Final Four. She has guided Rutgers to 17 NCAA Tournament berths, including two trips to the Final Four and a national championship appearance.
Stringer and the Scarlet Knights have posted a record of 58-24 for a .707 winning percentage over the past three seasons. Over the past two years, the women’s basketball program has posted perfect scores of 100 in Graduation Success Rate.
Stringer notched her 1,000th career victory in November 2018, becoming the fifth NCAA Division I women’s basketball coach to reach the mark. She is the first African-American coach to reach the milestone and now ranks fifth all-time in NCAA women’s basketball with 1,055 career victories.
In 2019-20, Stringer surpassed the late Pat Summitt and became the NCAA record holder with 37 seasons of 20 or more victories. Following that season, she received the John R. Wooden Award “Legends of Coaching” honor based on character, success on the court, graduation rate of players in the basketball program, coaching philosophy, and identification with the goals of the late UCLA coach.
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