Lowery agrees to seven-year deal at SIU

Chris Lowery will stay put at alma mater Southern Illinois University, agreeing to a seven-year contract extension that will pay him $750,000 a season, the university announced Sunday.

The yearly income triples what Lowery made this season, when he guided the Salukis to a school record 29 wins, and the programs highest-ever ranking, No. 11, in the Associated Press men's basketball poll.

Southern Illinois also was a fourth seed in the NCAA regional -- its highest seed ever in the tournament -- after winning its fifth Missouri Valley Conference regular-season title in the past six seasons. The Salukis pushed top-seeded Kansas to the brink before falling in a West regional semifinal.

Southern Illinois' run through its league and to the school's third appearance in the NCAA tournament's round of 16 triggered widespread interest in Lowery, who at 34 was the youngest coach in the event's field.

"I am flattered by the university's offer and its desire to keep me as head coach," Lowery said while attending the Final Four in Atlanta. "Southern Illinois is a special place, and our leaders have bold plans for the future. I feel there are no limits to what our men's basketball program can accomplish."

Mario Moccia, the schools athletics director, said the contract underscores the Salukis commitment to keeping Lowery, the reigning Missouri Valley coach of the year. It's an award he has won twice in his three seasons guiding Southern Illinois, where he has gone 78-26.

"Given Coach Lowery's track record as a head coach, we felt it was essential to retain him," Moccia said in a statement.

Moccia, who during the Missouri Valley tournament last month made clear his major goals included keeping Lowery put "for a long time," said Lowerys success in the subsequent NCAA tournament commanded attention from possible suitors.

While understanding a bigger school could have outbid Southern, Moccia said recently the Carbondale school was "going to make the best effort we can financially to keep Chris around."

Moccia said then he hoped a competitive financial package, combined with Lowery's ties as an alumnus of the school where he played point guard for three Saluki teams that made it to the NCAA tournament in the mid-1990s, could persuade him to stick around.

In the schools statement Sunday, Lowery said the program had not yet peaked and credited Moccia for his leadership and vision, adding that both men share a belief the program can continue to grow.

"Chris and I have forged a special relationship," Moccia added. "We share a competitive desire to achieve success. And we feel the potential of Southern Illinois University is unlimited."