June 26, 2001
ATLANTA – Head basketball coach Paul Hewitt, who guided Georgia Tech back to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in five years last March and earned Atlantic Coast Conference Coach of the Year honors, has signed a new five-year contract with a rollover provision.
The pact, which includes an automatic one-year rollover at the end of each year of the contract, is effective as of April 1, 2001, and has an annual base salary of $150,000. Including his television and radio programs and public speaking appearances, Hewitt’s total annual compensation will be $500,000.
“I’m extremely grateful for the faith that Georgia Tech, Dr. Clough and Dave Braine have shown in me,” said Hewitt, referring to Tech’s president and director of athletics. “Thanks to the seniors on last year’s team, we have gotten off to a very good start, and I look forward to keep Georgia Tech at the level at which it has been accustomed to for so long.”
Hewitt’s first Yellow Jacket team finished 17-13 overall and finished fifth in the Atlantic Coast Conference with an 8-8 record. The Jackets knocked off such storied programs as Kentucky and UCLA on the road, upended a top-10 ranked Virginia team three times, posted five wins over top 25 teams and seven wins overall against teams which advanced to the NCAA Tournament.
“The college basketball world now knows what we discovered about Paul when we were in our hiring process,” said Braine. “While exceeding most people’s expectations in his first year here, he has re-established our basketball program on firm ground, and we want to compensate him accordingly.”
The 38-year-old Hewitt has an overall head coaching record of 83-40, including a 66-27 mark in three seasons at Siena College on Loudonville, N.Y. In four years as a head coach, he has steered three teams to the post-season. With 17 wins last year, he tied Roy Mundorf for most wins in a season for a first-year head coach at Tech.
Hewitt has also attracted a highly-regarded recruiting class in his first year with four prospects ranked in the nation’s top 100 seniors – 6-4 guard Barry Elder of Madison, Ga., 6-6 forward Isma’il Muhammad of Atlanta, 6-8 forward Ed Nelson of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., and 6-6 guard Anthony McHenry of Birmingham, Ala.
