$3 million bonus kicks in for Sooners’ Stoops

$3 million bonus kicks in for Sooners’ Stoops

NORMAN, Okla. (AP) — Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops (Mooney High) earned $3 million when the calendar flipped.

A clause in Stoops’ contract — approved in 2005 by the university’s board of regents — provided for the 48-year-old coach to receive a so-called “stay bonus” of $3 million after completing 10 seasons as the Sooners’ coach.

Stoops was scheduled to receive the bonus if he remained at Oklahoma through 2008, which ended Wednesday. He was hired as the Sooners’ coach in December 1998, replacing John Blake.

The Associated Press obtained a copy of Stoops’ contract through an open-records request.

No. 2 Oklahoma plays No. 1 Florida in the BCS championship game in Miami on Thursday.

“I think it’s pretty special that I’ve been able to be a part of this program for the last 10 years and to build it back to a pretty strong position in college football. Year in and year out, we seem to be in that position. And again, it isn’t me. It’s everybody,” Stoops said earlier this week.

Stoops, one of the nation’s highest-paid coaches, has a 109-23 record at Oklahoma, having guided the Sooners to six Big 12 Conference titles and the 2000 national championship. He already receives annual raises of $150,000 under a contract that runs through December 2013. Stoops’ 2008 guaranteed annual income was $2.775 million.

Along with the $3 million bonus, healso would receive $250,000 if No. 2 Oklahoma beats No. 1 Florida.