Volunteers Ink Fulmer, Pearl To Multi-Year, Incentive-Laden Extensions

Knoxville, TN (AHN) - Tennessee gave basketball coach Bruce Pearl and football coach Phillip Fulmer hefty extensions on Wednesday by keeping them under contract through the 2014 season.

Pearl will get an average of $2.3 million a year, increasing the $1.3 million amount he earned last season. The new deal also allows him to receive a bonus amounting to $250,000 with $1.5 million serving as an upfront retention bonus.

The Volunteers coach steered the school to its first-ever outright NCAA tournament slot since 1967, thanks also in part to a 31-5 overall record last season.

Fulmer, meanwhile, received a seven-year deal that will pay him almost $3 million annually. The deal is incentive laden, with increases of $350,000 if the Vols nail the SEC championship and another $850,000 if they capture the national championship.

Under the new deal, the football coach will earn $2.4 million this coming season, with an annual increase of $150,000. Additionally, the 57-year-old Fulmer stands to earn $1 million as part of a longevity bonus in 2012, which would mark his 20th anniversary in coaching the Vols.

"I am really proud of our university's commitment to myself and my staff and support group," he told the Associated Press. "I love my job, I love these kids and I love the University of Tennessee."

Just like Pearl's contract, the deal to Fulmer is teeming with incentives if goals are met during the course of the season. Fulmer will get $100,000 more for winning an SEC Eastern Division title, $150,000 for a BCS bowl appearance without winning the SEC, $350,000 for capturing the SEC title and $850,000 for nailing the national championship.