By Keith Sargeant | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

During a 1:30 p.m. teleconference Thursday, the Rutgers Board of Governors unanimously approved a four-year contract extension with C. Vivian Stringer that will guarantee the Hall of Fame women's basketball coach $3.4 million in salary from the university through the 2020-21 season.

"With the start of the basketball season just days ahead, I’m delighted that we’ve reached a new agreement with Coach Stringer,'' Rutgers Athletics Director Pat Hobbs said. "We are making investments in excellence across our department and this agreement, along with the coming practice facility, demonstrates our commitment to returning our women’s basketball program to an elite level. This agreement not only recognizes Coach Stringer's success on the court, but also her tremendous record of preparing our students for the next phase of their life, whether in the WNBA, the business world or anything else they might pursue.''

In addition to a base salary that starts at $775,000 this season and increases to $925,000 in Year 4, Stringer is eligible for up to $690,000 in annual-bonus compensation based on the Scarlet Knights’ academic and team success.

“Job security means everything,’’ Stringer told NJ Advance Media on Thursday afternoon. “It’s a tremendous relief because, one, I want to bring this team to the promised land and I feel that we can have unlimited success in the future.

“It’s also a major relief because it allows me to do the work that I set out to do and I want to do and will do. We believe that we can do a lot of good things. And I appreciate that Pat was confident in me from the beginning. When he came here he let me know that he intended to have me coach at Rutgers for as long as I wanted to.''

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John Munson | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

Stringer's guaranteed salary doesn’t include a one-time $50,000 bonus whenever she achieves her 1,000th career victory. Stringer, who was scheduled to earn $700,000 for the final year of her contract this season, enters the 2017-18 campaign 23 wins shy of joining Stanford’s Tara VanDerveer and former Tennessee head coach Pat Summit with 1,000 career victories in women’s basketball.

In 2016, Stringer was Rutgers University’s fourth-highest paid employee at $935,767 — behind only Scarlet Knights football coach Chris Ash and two professors associated with the medical school.

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Perhaps the most interesting aspect of the contract, however, is a clause that could keep the 69-year old Stringer at Rutgers in an administrative role if she decides to relinquish her head-coaching duties after the 2018-19 season.

Because Rutgers is a public institution, the contract states the university “can’t make open-ended commitments regarding future employment.’’

But following the 2018-19 season and up to the expiration date (June 30, 2021), Stringer “may be reassigned to other duties’’ by Rutgers officials at a level of compensation equivalent to what she would’ve earned — $875,000 in Year 3 and $925,000 in Year 4 — “following good-faith discussions’’ between the AD and Stringer.

Stringer, however, made it clear that the contract is by no means an “exit plan.’’

“That wasn’t the purpose,’’ she said. “I gotta get this team to the point where I’m comfortable with where we’re at (success-wise). I’m not comfortable unless we’re at the highest levels that we achieved in the past. I think what Pat was trying to do is to show me that ‘I want you to be here with me. I don’t care what you choose to do (retirement-wise). You can coach for four more years, you can decide you want to coach for two more years. But you’re going to always be here with me.’ ''

Hobbs echoed that sentiment, labeling it as a way to continue Stringer's role with the program after her coaching career.

"It’s certainly my hope that Coach will coach the next four years and beyond that,’’ Hobbs told NJ Advance Media. “I wanted to make sure that Coach knew that whether it’s near the end of the contract or beyond this contract, or at any time when we’re looking at her future beyond coaching at Rutgers University, I wanted her to know through our negotiations that there will always be a place for her at Rutgers University. She’ll be invaluable whether she’s coaching on the floor or if she’s working with the athletics department in other ways.

"That’s a fairly common practice out there where you have a coach who has made significant long-term contributions to an institution that you make sure you continue to benefit from that after they’ve concluded their coaching career. So given where she is in her tenure, we wanted to start that discussion but my anticipation is she’s going to build this program back to where she wants it to be and where we all want it to be.''

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In the last round of negotiations, Stringer’s base salary was cut from $1 million annually to $700,000. However, there was a clause that would’ve paid her a one-time bonus of $500,000 if the Scarlet Knights would’ve advanced to the NCAA Tournament’s Sweet 16 at any point over the last three seasons.

That didn’t happen, as Rutgers advanced only as far as the second round while qualifying for just one NCAA Tournament since 2013-14.

Her career record of 977-390 (.715) includes a 457-255 (.642) ledger in 22 seasons as Rutgers coach. A Naismith Hall of Fame inductee, Stringer's Rutgers tenure has been highlighted by 15 NCAA Tournament berths, including Final Four appearances in 2000 and 2007, and a WNIT Championship in 2014.

"For the longtime fans who have seen the glorious years, I’m not going to explain what happened,'' Stringer said. "But at the end of the day we’re moving our program forward in the right direction. We're going to get back to the promised land.''

Here are the contract terms:

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John Munson | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

Term

While the contract was signed Monday by both Hobbs and Stringer, the term began Oct. 25. The contract is set to expire on June 30, 2021.

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Guaranteed salary

Here is Stringer’s annual salary:

Oct. 25, 2017 through June 30, 2018: $775,000

July 1, 2018 through June 30, 2019: $825,000

July 1, 2019 through June 30, 2020: $875,000

July 1, 2020 through June 30, 2021: $925,000

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Bonuses

Stringer is eligible for the following annual performance incentives:

$10,000 for 10 or more Big Ten wins *

$25,000 for shared Big Ten regular-season championship *

$50,000 for outright Big Ten regular-season championship *

$50,000 for Big Ten Tournament championship *

$20,000 for being named Big Ten Coach of the Year *

$100,000 for behind named National Coach of the Year by The Associated Press or USA Today (bonus is not cumulative if she were to be named by both) *

$50,000 for participation in NCAA Tournament (down from $100K in previous deal)

$25,000 for winning the 1st round NCAA Tournament game (down from $50K)

$25,000 for winning the 2nd round NCAA Tournament game (down from $50K)

$35,000 for winning the 3rd round NCAA Tournament game (down from $50K)

$50,000 for winning the 4th round NCAA Tournament game (down from $100K)

$75,000 for winning the 5th round NCAA Tournament game (up from $50K)

$150,000 for winning the NCAA Championship game (up from $100K)

$10,000 for participation in the NIT post-season Tournament

$20,000 for winning the NIT post-season Tournament championship

$50,000 for winning her 1,000th game

$15,000 if team average cumulative GPA is 2.8 or better for scholarship players *

$25,000 if team average cumulative GPA is 3.0 or better for scholarship players (bonuses are not cumulative) *

$10,000 if team posts a multi-year APR of 950 or above *

* — Same amount as previous contract

Note: In addition to the $500,000 kicker if the Scarlet Knights advanced to the NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 one time during the contract period, also gone from the contract is a $25,000 bonus based on a 1,000-ticket growth in average paid attendance for women's basketball home games.

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Buyout clause

Stringer would be owed 100 percent of her remaining salary if she is fired without cause at any point until the term expires.

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NJ Advance Media file photo

Assistant coaches pool

Not less than $436,000 for annual base salaries. The amount shall increase annually by not less than 3 percent. If the team has a winning final record and competes in the NCAA Tournament or WNIT, then the base-salary increases shall increase by not less than 5 percent. In addition, a bonus pool of up to a maximum 10 percent of the assistant-coach salaries shall be provided annually for NCAA performance-based bonuses, which will be recommended by Stringer and determined by Hobbs.

The previous pool was $425,000.

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Looking ahead

Rutgers returns six players — including junior guard Khadaizha Sanders (7.3 points-per-game, 2.5 steals-per-game) and junior center/forward Desiree Keeling (5.2 points-per-game, 6.3 rebounds-per-game) — from a team that finished the worst record (6-24) in program history.

The roster is bolstered by now-eligible transfers Kathleen Fitzpatrick, Stasha Carey and Ciani Cryor as well as fifth-year senior guard Tyler Scaife, a 2016 All-Big Ten second-team honoree who sat out last season due to injury.

The Scarlet Knights open the 2017-18 season on Friday, Nov. 10 at James Madison and will host Wake Forest on Sunday, Nov. 19 in the home opener.

"I appreciate the opportunity to continue to take the Scarlet Knights to great heights, in particular, with the current group of young ladies we have,'' Stringer said. "I have the chance to keep doing what I love to do and that is coach basketball, along with teaching and mentoring the young women who are in our program.

"With the current team, there is a great outlook and I am excited for what the future holds for this program.''

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Video by Keith Sargeant | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

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Keith Sargeant may be reached at ksargeant@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @KSargeantNJ. Find NJ.com Rutgers Football on Facebook.