Illinois has extended football coach Lovie Smith's contract by two years, athletic director Josh Whitman announced Sunday.
Smith completed his third season at Illinois on Saturday with a 24-16 loss at Northwestern. Originally signed in March 2016 to a six-year, $21 million deal, Smith is 9-27 in Champaign, including a 4-23 Big Ten record. The Illini finished 4-8 this season and 2-7 in the conference.
Terms of the extension were being finalized and have not been released. The extension, which runs through the 2023 season, is subject to board of trustee approval in January.
"This extension demonstrates my belief in Lovie Smith, his staff and the plan they have for the future success of Illinois football," Whitman said in a statement. "I have studied our program extensively, and I see steady progress, both in the development of our current players and the talent we are adding to our roster. To date, we have remained one of the youngest teams in college football, with only nine seniors and nearly 80 freshmen and sophomores. As our players grow in strength, skill and experience, more wins will follow."
The Illinois job was Smith's first college coaching position since he was an assistant at Ohio State in 1995. He spent 19 seasons coaching in the NFL, leading the Bears to a Super Bowl appearance during his nine seasons as their head coach.
"The University of Illinois is an incredible place to coach and teach," Smith said in a statement. "We love living here in Champaign-Urbana and representing our state's flagship institution. We will continue working every day as we move our football program forward."
