Wyoming men’s basketball coach Larry Shyatt’s contract has been extended through April 2019, athletics director Tom Burman announced Tuesday.
Shyatt recently finished his third season since returning as Wyoming’s head coach in 2011. He also led the Cowboys in 1997-98. In four seasons, Wyoming has amassed a 78-50 (.609) record under Shyatt.
“I believe Coach (Larry) Shyatt has done an outstanding job of building our program for the future,” Burman said in a news release. “On the court, our team is now competitive with the top teams in our conference and nationally. What Larry and his staff have done in improving the academic performance of our men’s basketball student-athletes is equally impressive.
“I believe Coach Shyatt has our program headed in a very positive direction, and I wanted to assure that we could maintain that positive momentum. The best way to accomplish that was to show our commitment to Larry through an extension of his contract.”
Shyatt’s restructured contract lasts five years, beginning May 2014 and running through April 30, 2019, and figures to pocket him a total of $3.6 million. The guaranteed compensation package will earn Shyatt more than $700,000 in 2014-15. Included in that package is a base salary of $205,008 next season.
“My wife, Pam, and I would like to thank Tom Burman, who is the main reason why we left Florida and returned to the University of Wyoming,” Shyatt said in a statement. “We also would like to thank President Dick McGinity and our Board of Trustees for the confidence they’ve shown in us.
“We are pleased that we have been able to instill a winning culture, both in the way our team members perform academically and on the court. We are certainly not satisfied with where our program is at, and our goal is to move our program into the upper echelon of the Mountain West.
“For us, it is about building a successful program, not simply building a winning team.”
Shyatt’s four seasons at Wyoming have resulted in four postseason appearances — three trips to the CBI as well as a NIT berth in 1998. The Cowboys have pulled two upsets over No. 5 teams: a 68-62 victory over San Diego State in 2014 and a 62-56 victory over Utah in 1997-98.
Academically, Shyatt’s teams have raised their NCAA Academic Progress Rate (APR) score from 905 in 2010-11 — the year before his arrival — to a 938 APR in 2011-12. The Cowboys also earned a 940 for the 2012-13 season. Additionally, the team amassed a cumulative 2.86 team GPA in 2013-14, its highest mark in 10 years.
No place we’d rather be than Laramie. Family takes care of family and this is only the beginning of the journey Cowboy Nation! #ADU #gowyo
— Jeremy Shyatt (@CoachShyatt) June 17, 2014
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