Mark Stoops
Kentucky head coach Mark Stoops walks the sideline with his coaching staff in the first half of an NCAA college football game in Baton Rouge, La., Saturday, Oct. 18, 2014. LSU won 41-3. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
With his team on the verge of its first postseason trip in four years, Kentucky head football coach Mark Stoops picked up a raise and a one-year contract extension on Friday.
The school announced that Stoops is now under contract through the 2019 season. The new deal also raises Stoops' base salary incrementally from $2.6 million this season to $3.85 million by the final year of the deal.
"I am excited about the progress our team has shown on the field, but this is as much about the next five years as it is the last one and a half," Kentucky athletics director Mitch Barnhart said. "As I've said before, I believe we can compete at the highest level in the toughest conference. Mark is the coach to take us there."
Stoops -- the younger brother of Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops -- is 7-13 in two seasons at Kentucky, but 5-3 this year. The Wildcats travel to Missouri Saturday, needing just one victory to become bowl-eligible for the first time since 2010.