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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Thursday, April 1, 2010

Pitino agrees to extend contract


Associated Press

Hawaii news photo - The Honolulu Advertiser

Rick Pitino

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NCAA WOMEN

Hawai'i times

FINAL FOUR

At Alamodome

San Antonio

National Semifinals

Sunday

Connecticut (37-0) vs. Baylor (27-9), TBA

Stanford (35-1) vs. Oklahoma (27-10), TBA

National Championship

Next Tuesday

Semifinal winners, TBA

NCAA MEN

FINAL FOUR

At Lucas Oil Stadium

Indianapolis

National Semifinals

Saturday

Michigan State (28-8) vs. Butler (32-4), 12:07 p.m. Hawai'i time

West Virginia (31-6) vs. Duke (33-5), 40 minutes following

National Championship

Monday

Semifinal winners, TBA

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LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Louisville and coach Rick Pitino agreed in principle to a four-year contract extension yesterday that will keep him on the sideline through the 2016-17 season.

Pitino hopes the extension ends what he called unfounded speculation that he's considering leaving the Cardinals in pursuit of another job.

"My moving days have long been over," Pitino said. "I've been here nine years. It feels like nine days. Now I'm going to be able to end this career at the place I want to end it at."

Financial details have yet to be worked out, and the deal needs to be approved by the university's athletic association.

Pitino's current contract runs through 2013 and pays him around $2.5 million annually. Athletic director Tom Jurich said his goal is to make Pitino's new salary competitive with the top coaches in the country.

Pitino is 220-86 at Louisville and 572-210 in 24 seasons at the collegiate level. He's the only men's coach to lead three different programs to the Final Four.

PITTSBURGH

DIXON STAYING PUT

Pittsburgh basketball coach Jamie Dixon signed a two-year contract extension, ending any speculation he might leave the Panthers for a higher-paying job.

Dixon was already signed through the 2015-16 season, at a salary of about $1.6 million per season.

"I know how good I've got it at Pitt," Dixon said. "I'm not going anywhere. This is where I want to be, and this is where I always hoped to be. I'm happy to be at Pitt. I'm the luckiest guy in the world, and I recognize it every day."

Dixon has a 188-54 record in seven seasons and the Panthers have made the NCAA tournament every season under him.

ELSEWHERE

George Mason: Signed coach Jim Larranaga to a contract extension through 2015-16.

Hofstra: Tim Welsh, who spent the past two seasons with ESPNU, was hired as new coach.

Holy Cross: Fired coach Sean Kearney after a 9-22 record in his first season.

Penn: Named Jerome Allen as new coach after serving as interim coach last season.

St. John's: Named Steve Lavin, who's been out of coaching seven years, new coach.

Seton Hall: Introduced Kevin Willard as new men's coach, and Anne Donovan as new women's coach.