by STAFF – 17 JUN ’14
University of Wyoming Athletics Director Tom Burman announced Tuesday he is extending the contract of head men’s basketball coach Larry Shyatt through April of 2019. Shyatt has led the Cowboys to a 78-50 (.609) record during his four seasons as head coach, has taken Wyoming to postseason play each of those four seasons and has dramatically improved the academic standing of the men’s basketball student-athletes during his tenure.
“I believe Coach (Larry) Shyatt has done an outstanding job of building our program for the future,” said Burman. “On the court, our team is now competitive with the top teams in our conference and nationally. What Larry and his staff have done in improving the academic performance of our men’s basketball student-athletes is equally impressive. I believe Coach Shyatt has our program headed in a very positive direction, and I wanted to assure that we could maintain that positive momentum. The best way to accomplish that was to show our commitment to Larry through an extension of his contract.”
“My wife, Pam, and I would like to thank Tom Burman, who is the main reason why we left Florida and returned to the University of Wyoming,” said Shyatt. “We also would like to thank President Dick McGinity and our Board of Trustees for the confidence they’ve shown in us.
“We are pleased that we have been able to instill a winning culture, both in the way our team members perform academically and on the court. We are certainly not satisfied with where our program is at, and our goal is to move our program into the upper echelon of the Mountain West. For us, it is about building a successful program, not simply building a winning team.”
The terms of Shyatt’s restructured deal include a five-year contract beginning May 2014, and running through April 30, 2019. Shyatt’s total guaranteed compensation package will earn him over $700,000 in 2014-15. Included in that package is a base salary of $205,008 in `14-’15.
