Saint Louis men's basketball coach Josh Schertz will remain with the program after agreeing to a new contract with the school, athletic director Chris May told reporters on Friday morning.
Schertz, who was a very popular name for high major coaching jobs this cycle, including the opening at Kansas State, will instead remain with the Billikens and continue building a conference contending program in the Atlantic 10.
"We're thrilled about the ability to build a program with sustained success," May said on Friday. "It's been a great first two years and we look forward to many, many more."
Schertz has not yet issued a comment on his new contract with the school given Saint Louis' conference quarterfinal matchup against George Washington. Last week, as his name swirled for jobs elsewhere, Schertz told reporters, "This job is everything I thought it would be when I made the decision to come. Incredible alignment and commitment from the top down, in a major city that loves its sports teams."
Saint Louis had a 30% increase in attendance this season, according to a report from Billikens reporter Stu Durando, thanks to an 18-game winning streak that saw the program soar to the top of the A-10.
Schertz joined Saint Louis two years ago after a strong tenure three-year tenure at Indiana State, and went 19–15 last season before racing out to a 27–4 mark this season entering Friday's quarterfinal against the Revolutionaries.
Schertz was a popular name in the coaching carousel this cycle
The 50-year-old Schertz was under strong consideration for the opening at Kansas State after the Wildcats fired Jerome Tang last month. But Schertz reportedly turned down an opportunity to coach the Wildcats, who instead will hire Belmont's Casey Alexander, Sports Illustrated reported on Thursday night.
Both Syracuse and Providence were thought to have had interest in getting involved with Schertz as well after firing Adrian Autry and Kim English, respectively, following the conclusion of their seasons.
But Schertz instead opted to stay with Saint Louis, with what is expected to be a larger commitment to NIL for the roster. Saint Louis spent between $3 and $3.5 million on this year's roster, which paced behind several programs in the Atlantic 10. May acknowledged prior to signing Schertz to an extension that the Billikens would have to fund the roster at a higher level moving forward, which should be expected now that the 50-year-old has agreed to remain with the program.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Saint Louis Agrees to New Contract With Coach Josh Schertz.
