WMU's Murray Says Agreement on New Deal In Place

CHN Staff Report

Western Michigan coach Andy Murray says he has an agreement in place with the university on a contract extension. He made the statement in response to a question from a WMMT-TV reporter during his weekly press conference earlier this week.

Murray, who turns 68 next week, is the second-oldest active coach, behind Boston College's Jerry York. He took over at Western Michigan in 2011-12, and is working under a contract that expires at the end of this season.

"Our administration has a lot going on right now, they don't need to worry about Andy Murray's contract," Murray said in the news conference. "(WMU athletic director) Kathy Beauregard and I have an agreement, there's a long-term contract, I'll sign it. She's got other things going on. I never ever announce my contracts. You just take care of your players, and you'll be taking care of yourself. So we have an agreement in place, but I don't announce those kinds of things, because it's all about our team here, it's not about Andy Murray."

Murray came to Western Michigan after two stints as a head coach in the NHL, with Los Angeles and St. Louis. He went 333-278-58-69 in 738 NHL games. He was a candidate for the RPI coaching opening in 2005 that ultimately went to Seth Appert. Later that year, he was a mid-season replacement for the St. Louis Blues.

Murray said he looks forward to coaching many more years in Kalamazoo.

"Yes, my plan is to be here, that's Kathy's plan. And we've got some tremendous players coming in," Murray said. "We're going to move some players onto the National Hockey League this year. We're not exactly sure how many, but we like our group coming in, we like the group we've got right now. There've been opportunities over the years to go other places, (but) I love being the Bronco hockey coach and being around the fans and other people I've gotten to know here."

In his first year with the Broncos, Murray led the team to a 21-14-6 record that first season, and an NCAA tournament berth. After two more 19-win seasons, WMU hit a rough patch for two years, before a 22-win season in 2016-17 and another NCAA bid. The Broncos are currently 11th in the Pairwise, and in solid position for an NCAA bid this year, but face a big test in No. 1 St. Cloud State this weekend.