Capel, Oklahoma working on new contract

[April 04, 2009]  OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) -- Amid reports linking him with a handful of other jobs, Oklahoma coach Jeff Capel said Friday he plans to stay with the Sooners.

Capel and the university's president, David Boren, both said work is underway on a new contract for the coach, who guided Oklahoma to a 30-6 record and the round of eight in the NCAA tournament.

Boren said the university intends to provide "a reasonable raise" for Capel, based on "his performance and the compensation of his peer group." If that happens - and there's no reason to think it won't - Capel will have received a raise after each of his three seasons at Oklahoma.

"We're very pleased and proud of the leadership coach Capel has provided to our basketball program and the significant improvements that he and our team have made," Boren said in a statement.

In recent days, Capel has been mentioned as a candidate for coaching vacancies at Georgia, Virginia, Arizona and Memphis, although he has said nothing specific about his job status until Friday.

"Our program has made tremendous strides the last couple of years and I continue to be excited about the direction it's heading," Capel said in a statement.

Capel, who is 69-33 at Oklahoma, said he's had "very good discussions" about his contract with Boren and athletic director Joe Castiglione.

"I look forward to completing that process and my plan certainly is to remain at OU," Capel said.

University regents would have to approve any changes to Capel's current contract.

Capel, 34, went 79-41 with one NCAA tournament berth in four seasons at Virginia Commonwealth before taking the Oklahoma job in April 2006, replacing Kelvin Sampson.

After going 16-15 in his first season, Capel received a $100,000 raise to $750,000 annually and a contract extension. The Sooners went 23-12 and reached the second round of the NCAA tournament last season, and Capel was rewarded with a two-year contract extension through July 2014 and had his annual guaranteed compensation increased by $300,000 to $1.05 million.

Besides the guaranteed money, Capel's current contract includes a stay bonus of $100,000 per year, payable at the conclusion of six years. It also includes a clause that would award Capel a $100,000 bonus should the Sooners win the national title.

The highest-paid basketball coach in the Big 12 Conference is Bill Self of Kansas, who makes $3 million annually. Self signed a 10-year, $30 million deal after guiding the Jayhawks to last year's NCAA title.

[Associated Press; By MURRAY EVANS]

Copyright 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.