Aug 3, 2007, 18:40 GMT
Seattle, WA - The University of Washington made it official on Friday, signing men's head basketball coach Lorenzo Romar to a contract extension that will keep him with the club through the 2015-16 season.
The sixth-year head coach of the Washington program agreed to the general terms of his new deal last November and intermittently discussed various aspects of the contract's language with university officials since that time. He tabled the majority of discussion in order to focus on his team's 2006-07 competitive season. Specific terms of the agreement were not released.
Romar led Washington to a 26-7 record in 2005-06, reaching the Sweet 16 for the second year in a row. This came on the heels of a 29-6 2004-05 campaign, the most wins by a Huskies team since 1938. In addition to winning the Pac-10 tournament title that year, Romar was named the 2005 Pac-10 Coach of the Year as the Huskies earned a number one seed in the NCAA tournament.
'When I took this job, I made it very clear that the University of Washington is the place where I wanted to be and that I was not interested in being anywhere else,' said Romar. 'I continue to make that very clear. I am so thankful for this commitment from Dr. (Mark) Emmert and Todd Turner so my family and I can be at a place where we have always wanted to be.
'This also allows us to continue to focus on making this program a national contender year-in and year-out. It is truly a blessing to be in this position. I really believe in this university and what it stands for and I couldn't be more excited to receive a commitment that will allow us to stay here.'
Romar, a point guard for the Huskies from 1978-80, guided a young UW squad to a 19-13 overall record in 2006-07 that included a 17-2 mark at home. Despite losing freshman center Spencer Hawes to the first round (10th overall) of the NBA Draft, the Huskies return the core of their team in All-Pac-10 junior forward Jon Brockman, senior guard Ryan Appleby, junior guard Justin Dentmon and sophomore forward Quincy Pondexter.
Romar was chosen as Washington's head coach on April 3, 2002 after spending three seasons at Saint Louis. He also coached for three years at Pepperdine and has a career coaching mark of 151-123 in nine seasons.
© 2007 The Sports Network
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