Eastern Michigan University’s head football coach signed a four-year extension Tuesday, June 27, keeping him in green and white for several years to come.
The Board of Regents approved the extension at their August meeting -- extending his contract until the year 2022.
Creighton led the Eagles to a 7-6 finish in the regular season, culminating in a bowl game appearance in the Popeye’s Bahamas Bowl in December. It was the Eagles first bowl game since 1987 and their first winning season since 1995. The Eagles fell to Old Dominion University in a close game 24-20.
As reported by MLive.com, Creighton will earn a base salary of $425,000 - just shy of a 2.5 percent increase from his current contract set to expire on New Year's Eve 2018. Several monetary incentives were included such as team and academic performance.
"I think the world of Chris Creighton. Good friend," said newly appointed EMU athletic director Scott Wetherbee in a news conference announcing his hire at the Convocation Center, Tuesday, June 27.
"We will move the needle slowly with athletics here. At Mississippi State University, we beat down doors at orientation until that was all the parents heard about. Let's get after it and start regionally."
Creighton previously coached at Drake University, a division 1 Football Championship Subdivision school from 2008-13 where he led the program to a 44-22 record. He also coached for the Little Giants at Wabash College from 2001-07, a small liberal arts university located in Crawfordsville, Indiana.
"I feel as though we've made progress all the way through,” Creighton said.
"The vision of making the football program a real source of pride for the department, the university, the alumni. We are making progress but that vision has not been realized yet.”
The Eastern Michigan University football team opens the 2017 season against the University of North Carolina-Charlotte 49ers at Rynearson Stadium Friday Sept. 1 at 6:30 p.m.
