Miami Hurricanes football head coach Mark Richt signed a contract extension through the 2023 season on Thursday.
“Mark has done a phenomenal job of building this program – and generating enthusiasm for this program – since the day he arrived back on campus,” University of Miami Director of Athletics Blake James said. “We look forward to continued success under his watch, both on and off the field, for many years to come.”
Richt has posted a 19-7 record in his first two seasons at UM, leading the Hurricanes to a 10-3 record last season – the program’s first 10-win season since 2003. Miami appeared in the ACC Championship Game as Coastal Division champions for the first time, and also played in the Capital One Orange Bowl for the first time since 2004. He was named both 2017 ACC Coach of the Year and Walter Camp National Coach of the Year.
“We’re excited about where this program is headed,” Richt said. “I want to thank Blake James, Jennifer Strawley and our entire athletics administration for supporting our coaches, staff and student-athletes, ensuring that we’re committed to building on the great legacy of Hurricanes football.
“Miami is not only my alma mater, it is home to me and my family. It’s a blessing to live and work in paradise.”
Richt has an overall record of 164-58 in 17 years as a college head coach. Off the field he has made an impact on his players through his years of coaching.
RELATED: Miami Hurricanes coach Mark Richt gives Bibles to players
In 2016, Richt gave his player and assistants a personalized Bible, which he handed out during a team meeting. The players were not forced to take the Bibles but Coach Richt wanted to make sure everyone had the option of taking one.
“I told the guys, ‘It’s a choice. If you want to just leave it at the chair, you can. If you want to take it with you, you can. If you want to give it to somebody, you can. But I just heard enough guys say they didn’t have one and some guys said they had older versions that were harder to understand,” Richt told the Sun Sentinel. “We have chapel before the games and it’s 100 percent voluntary. Some guys go, and some guys don’t. There will be times I’ll give them those wise sayings from Proverbs, the book of wisdom. If anyone would take up the challenge of reading a proverb a day, you’re going to get wiser. It’s good stuff. I just wanted to make it available to them.”
At the University of Georgia, he led Carolina Panthers Pro-Bowl linebacker Thomas Davis to the Lord and became his father figure.
“I never had a father figure in my household so I looked upon him as a father figure,” Davis recalls. “And, the way he did things, the way that he communicated things with his wife, his kids. You know, I really learned a lot about being a man from Coach Richt.”
“He’s one of the best coaches in the country … yet he still gives all credit to God,” Davis says. “I’m like, who is this God and how can I find him? What do I have to do to get closer to Him? … I learned that from him. That’s where it all started for me.”
The Miami Hurricanes will look to build off their 10-3 record from a year ago as they start the 2018 season against the LSU Tigers on Sept. 2.
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