NDSU FB Assistants Benefit from Klieman Contract Extension

Bison football coach Chris Klieman signed a two-year contract extension on Thursday

FARGO, N.D. — Winning three national titles in four years, 90 percent of your games and four conference titles is a pretty good way to score some respect as a head coach.

Chris Klieman signed a two-year contract extension Thursday that locks him up as North Dakota State’s coach until 2023.

Klieman won’t see a raise in his $300,000 base salary, but if he does stick around until 2022, he will get a $50,000 longevity bonus. This is in addition to a separate $50,000 longevity bonus in his original contract that kicks in in 2019.

One of the biggest additions doesn’t benefit Klieman directly, but his staff.

Klieman insisted that his assistant coaches receive bonuses for every year the bison win eight games.

“That’s why he is who he is for me at the end of the day,” NDSU Athletic Director Matt Larsen said of Klieman. “I think Chris is very much – he doesn’t like to be in the spotlight. He doesn’t like to talk about himself, and I think that’s the sign of a true leader. He is very quick to deflect credit to his staff and his student athletes. That’s where it’s my job to tell everybody how great Chris Klieman is, because he’s not going to do that for himself.”