UConn men's basketball extends contract to Ollie

• UConn men's basketball will give coach Kevin Ollie a five-year extension
• Ollie was the handpicked choice of retiring coach Jim Calhoun
• The Huskies are off to a 9-2 start

HARTFORD, Conn. -- Connecticut has given men's basketball coach Kevin Ollie a new contract that runs through the end of the 2017-18 season.

The deal, signed Saturday, is worth just under $7 million and begins Tuesday. When Ollie was hired in September, he was signed for one season.

"As I said in my first press conference, I want to be here a lifetime. And this is a step, hopefully a great step, in the program moving forward," Ollie said.

Ollie, who turned 40 on Thursday, was hired after Hall of Fame coach Jim Calhoun retired. His original deal had a prorated value of just over $465,000, the school said.

Ollie has led UConn to a 9-2 record entering Saturday's game against Washington despite losing five underclassmen from last season's team after it was announced that the Huskies were academically ineligible for the upcoming postseason.

"He's shown that he can coach, that he can lead this team on the court, and academically," athletics director Warde Manuel said. "He's the epitome of a UConn Husky."

Ollie, who played point guard for Calhoun from 1991 to 1995, was his former coach's handpicked successor. He became an assistant at UConn in 2010, after 13 years as an NBA journeyman.

But he had never been a head coach on any level. Manuel said that was why he waited before tendering a multiyear offer, even though he knew it could have a negative impact on recruiting.

"I'm sure it didn't help, the short-term nature of the deal," Manuel said. "But I wanted the opportunity to see Kevin and get a sense of who he was for the long term."

Ollie has quickly established himself with his upbeat and energetic style, running practices that focus on conditioning and accountability.

"Kevin moved gracefully and seamlessly into this position of immense responsibility over the course of the fall," school President Susan Herbst said. "He demonstrated to us that he is a genuine leader of extraordinary talents."

The contract also includes some stiff penalties should UConn again fail to meet the minimum standards for the NCAA Academic Progress Rate.

Ollie would forfeit two weeks' salary and all postseason payments. Consecutive years of substandard APR scores would be grounds for termination.

"I agreed to it because I have a belief system in my student-athletes," Ollie said. "We're students first, and we're going to get it done."

Those sanctions would be eliminated from the contract once UConn's four-year APR climbs above 930, Manuel said.

Ollie will receive $1.2 million in 2013. His base salary will be $400,000, and the rest will be for speaking and media appearances. The payments increase annually to $1.34 million by 2017.