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Texas A&M University athletic director Bill Byrne received a $204,000 salary boost and a 21/2-year contract extension Friday.
The increase, approved Friday by the Texas A&M System Board of Regents, brings Byrne's salary to $690,000 annually. His contract now extends through Aug. 31, 2013.
The governing panel also signed off on salary increases and contract extensions for women's basketball coach Gary Blair and soccer coach G. Guerrieri. Blair now will make $800,000 annually through May 31, 2012. Guerrieri will earn $180,000 annually through March 31, 2012.
Texas A&M President Elsa Murano praised the athletic director and the two coaches, describing them as "extremely deserving" and "great ambassadors."
"It is important to realize that millions of people worldwide experience Texas A&M through our sports teams," Murano said. "Athletics provides an opportunity for our students and former students to come to campus and share in the common bond that we know as the Aggie Spirit. And athletics enables hundreds of student-athletes each year to obtain a degree from a world-class university who may not have otherwise had that opportunity."
Byrne previously made $485,890 annually as part of a contract that was set to end Jan. 31, 2011. Murano lauded the athletic director for elevating the university's sports programs to a level of national prominence. As proof, she pointed to Director's Cup rankings (a competition among NCAA athletic programs based on how their individual teams fare), a record number of Big XII championships and the victory in the Lone Star Showdown.
Guerrieri previously was paid $135,000 on a contract set to expire at the end of the year. Blair's contract had been set to end March 31, 2011; his previous salary wasn't available late Friday.
"Most important is that both of these coaches have student-athletes who also are excelling in the classroom across our campus," Murano said.
Also on Friday, the Board of Regents approved the selection of Purdue Science Dean Jeffrey Vitter as A&M provost and executive vice president for academics. He will replace David Prior, who left last summer to take a higher-level position within the University of Texas System.
Jerry Strawser has been serving in the interim. He will return to his position as dean of the Mays Business School.
The panel also tapped Steven H. Tallant, vice chancellor for academic affairs at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, as the sole finalist for president of Texas A&M-Kingsville.
• Holly Huffman's e-mail address is holly.huffman@theeagle.com.
