Coach Todd Graham talks to a player during a scrimmage at Camp Tontozona in 2013. The Arizona Board of Regents on Friday approved a one-year extension of Graham's current contract. (Photo by Kyle Burton)
The Arizona Board of Regents unanimously approved a contract extension for ASU football head coach Todd Graham at a meeting Friday.
The regents met in Flagstaff this week to discuss several action items on their agenda including a report from the three state universities' athletic departments.
Athletic directors for UA, NAU and ASU all prepared presentations for the regents regarding their adherence to NCAA policies and a review of their performance in the past year.
The regents announced that all three universities were in compliance with NCAA requirements for student-athlete GPA and graduation rates.
Across the three universities, 10 teams had 100 percent graduation in the last year, and the overall GPA for the school's teams was 3.03.
In addition to the year-end athletic report, the regents reviewed mutli-year contract extensions for various coaches from both UA and ASU.
Graham agreed to a one-year contract extension in May. It extends his existing contract to June 30, 2019, and raises his base salary to $2.7 million.
ASU President Michael Crow, who was in attendance, said he was happy with the contract.
"He's been doing very well," Crow said. "We're very happy to provide him this extension."
In addition to Graham's contract, extensions were approved for several UA coaches and officials.
The regents approved contract extensions for Vice President and Director of Athletics Gregory Byrne, men's basketball head coach Sean Miller and head football coach Rich Rodriguez.
The regents also announced the finalist for the position of president at NAU.
Rita Cheng, the current sitting chancellor at Southern Illinois University, was named the finalist for the position.
Regent Chair Rick Myers said Cheng will visit NAU Thursday, June 12, and at that time the regents will vote to offer Dr. Cheng the presidency of NAU.
"She has a distinguished resume as leader in higher education and a strong understanding of NAU and its goals," Myers said.
Cheng has served as chancellor for SIU since 2010 where she has overseen a budget of $800 million and a student body of 18,000 students.
SIU's 2013 freshman class was its largest in 20 years and under Cheng's leadership the university saw increases to its international and online enrollment.
To close the meeting, the regents and others in attendance thanked Myers for his term as chair of the board.
Myers will serve four more years as a regent, but this meeting was his final as chair.
Reach the reporter at icbeck@asu.edu or follow him on Twitter @ICBeck21
