ASUCLA Photography UCLA Sports Info
UCLA head coach Bob Toledo has signed a
contract extension.
By Scott Bair
Daily Bruin Reporter
UCLA head coach Bob Toledo no longer has to worry about his
future. Toledo signed a contract extension that will keep him on
the Rose Bowl sidelines through the 2008 season.
The UCLA Athletic Department announced its commitment to Toledo
through 2008 on Tuesday. While the extension secures Toledo’s
job for the next seven seasons, the recent extension only adds one
year to his contract. Toledo was already under contract through the
2007 season and had an option to extend the contract to include the
2008 season.
Toledo will receive his current $587,000 annual salary in 2008
and should Toledo and UCLA choose to part ways before 2008, the
university would have to buy out his contract and pay him a base
salary for the remaining years on his contract. Under the new deal
UCLA would owe Toledo an additional $153,000 in base salary for the
2008 season.
Toledo’s extension comes after a 7-4 2001 campaign in
which UCLA started the season 6-0 before losing four straight
games, including a 27-0 defeat at USC.
The scandals surrounding the football program, ranging from
DeShaun Foster’s ineligibility to Cory Paus’ drunk
driving incident, to the 1998 handicap parking scandal, have marred
Toledo’s program in recent years.
The Athletic Department has chosen to ignore recent
disappointments and his 17-17 record over the last three years in
showing commitment to Toledo and his program.
Toledo has amassed a 42-27 record with two Pac-10 championships
and a Sugar Bowl victory in his six-year tenure as head coach.
“I am excited about the future and anxious to get the
season underway,” Toledo said. “We have a great nucleus
of players in our program. We will miss our seniors, but we have
many talented youngsters who are ready to show our fans what they
can do.”
With new players constantly joining the program as others
graduate, the contract extension will allow Toledo to be a stable
force for UCLA football for the next seven seasons.
“It’s great to know that we will all start and
finish with the same head coach,” wide receiver Craig Bragg
said. “It’s hard to change offensive and defensive
systems when you’re trying to develop as a player. It’s
great to know that with Coach Toledo’s contract extension,
we’re going to have stability in this program for a long time
to come.”