Vandals, Divilbiss nearing agreement on extension

The University of Idaho and women’s basketball coach Mike Divilbiss have agreed in principle on a contract extension, athletic director Rob Spear said.

Divilbiss will have two years added to the three years on his existing contract, Spear said. That would give Divilbiss a five-year contract, the maximum allowed for university employees in Idaho.

Divilbiss, 62-53 in four seasons at UI, makes about $81,600 in base salary. There wasn’t much Idaho could do to improve the base pay, but “we’ve tried to build in some additional incentives into the contract,” Spear said.

The contract hasn’t been approved by the state Board of Education, but could be acted upon at the Board’s next meeting in May.

Divilbiss inherited a team that went 7-21 in ex-coach Hilary Recknor’s final season in 2000-01. His first two teams won 11 and 10 games, respectively, and his last two squads have combined for 41 wins.

The Vandals have finished second in the Big West Conference Tournament the last two years. They nearly dethroned nine-time defending champion Santa Barbara last month before falling 74-66 in the title game.

“We want to keep him,” Spear said. “He’s turned that program around, and they’ll be solid for the foreseeable future.”

Divilbiss came to Idaho from Lewis-Clark State College, where he was 310-122 in 14 seasons.

The Vandals, who return two-time first-team All-Big West selections Leilani Mitchell and Emily Faurholt, join the Western Athletic Conference next season.