East Carolina has agreed to a five-year contract extension with athletic director Jeff Compher. The new deal, which was approved by the school’s Board of Trustees and approved by chancellor Cecil Staton on Tuesday, will keep Compher in charge of the Pirates’ athletic program through April 2023. Compher’s original five-year contract, signed upon his arrival in March 2013, was set to expire in 2018. His new deal will pay him an annual base salary of $435,000. “Jeff Compher continues to demonstrate the kind of expertise and competitive spirit that will make all of our programs national powers,” Staton said in a statement. “That’s where Pirate Nation expects to be, and I’m delighted he’s agreed to lead our athletics programs to even greater goals.” Although the performance of ECU’s most high-profile programs have slipped during his four-year tenure in Greenville, most notably football, Compher has presided over a period academic achievement, record-setting fundraising efforts and facilities improvement. He has also helped ECU gain a lucrative new apparel deal with adidas and helped guide the Pirates through their transition from Conference USA to the American Athletic Conference. Compher currently serves as head of the conference’s finance committee. Among his other accomplishments are the addition of a women’s lacrosse program, which will begin play next spring and the creation of a comprehensive life skills division to assist athlete development and enhance community outreach. “Collectively, we will continue to make solid progress in the classroom and are committed to improve competitively,” Compher said. “I am confident in Pirate Nation and what our future holds.”
