Claiborne On A Roll:
Jerry Gets New 5-Year Pact And Heads To Hall Of Fame Bowl
Fresh from two consecutive winning seasons which produced bowl invitations, Kentucky's Jerry Claiborne received an early Christmas gift last week as he was awarded a new five-year contract as head boss of the up-and-coming football Wildcats.
In a special session, the University of Kentucky Athletics Association's board of directors unanimously approved of President Otis Singletary's complimentary remarks and suggestion that now is the time to reward Claiborne.
"This was something we could do now and let the coach know the board is aware of the job being done," said Singletary. "This is a vote of confidence and a display of appreciation for a job well done."
Claiborne returned home to Kentucky in December of 1981 to rebuild a program which had suffered four consecutive losing campaigns. At the time of his new contract last week, Claiborne had two years remaining of his original five-year pact.
The new contract runs from January 1, 1985, to January 1, 1990. Officials said the new contract did not include a pay raise, but Singletary said his salary will be reviewed in the spring.
A masterful rebuilder, Claiborne turned disasters into bowl participants at both Virginia Tech and Maryland
before coming to Kentucky. Many have labeled UK as a "graveyard of coaches," but Claiborne has always insisted that a winning program could be established at Kentucky with hard work, dedication and unified support throughout the Commonwealth.
In three short years, he has done something no other Wildcat coach (including the legendary Paul "Bear" Bryant) ever did and that is to take two of his first three teams to post season bowls.
After the uneventful 0-10-1 start in 1982, Claiborne's second season produced a 6-4-1 mark and a berth in the Hall of Fame Bowl whre the Cats came within a play of upsetting West Virginia in a 20-16 loss.
This past season, the Wildcats stormed out to a 5-0 mark, stumbled in back-to-back losses to LSU and Georgia, then bounced back to win three of their last four including a heart-stopping 17-12 win over Tennessee, just moments before accepting a second straight Hall of Fame Bowl invitation.
Down the stretch, the Cats' lone loss was a 25-17 loss to Florida although a potential tying touchdown score was nullified by a penalty in the game's final minutes.
Of the new contract, Claiborne told a press conference Friday, "It's a good
1984 Hall Of Fame Schedule
Tuesday, Dec. 25, 198I
Wisconsin Team Arrival Wiscans in Practice
Wednesday, Dec. 26, 198