Chris Collins, Northwestern Agree to Contract Extension

The Northwestern Wildcats won their first NCAA tournament game in history in 2017 and rewarded head coach Chris Collins for the program's progress.

Northwestern confirmed the new contract on Tuesday after Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com first reported the news. Teddy Greenstein of the Chicago Tribune cited a source who said the extension will carry through the 2024-25 campaign.

"My family and I could not be more excited to be a part of the Wildcats community for many years to come," Collins said in the school release. "I have absolutely loved coaching here, the support that we've received from the University, its leadership and our fans has been exceptional. We love being a part of the Northwestern family and we can't wait to continue building on the foundation established over the last four seasons."

It's a busy day for Northwestern considering the Big Ten school also gave football head coach Pat Fitzgerald a contract extension. Brett McMurphy of ESPN.com reported Monday that the deal runs for "at least" the upcoming 10 seasons.

As for Collins, he is 73-60 in four seasons at Northwestern and has the program trending in the right direction:

Season	Record
2013-14	14-19
2014-15	15-17
2015-16	20-12
2016-17	24-12

He led the Wildcats to an appearance in the Big Ten tournament's semifinals, their first-ever Big Dance appearance and a victory against Vanderbilt once they got there in 2016-17. They also lost by just six in the round of 32 to a Gonzaga team that advanced to the national championship game.

Look for Northwestern to challenge for another NCAA tournament appearance next season under Collins with four of five starters returning (Bryant McIntosh, Scottie Lindsey, Vic Law and Dererk Pardon).

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