Bob Boldon signed a contract extension in advance of the MAC Tournament, after turning around yet another program.
Bob Boldon is a regular guy who happens to have an innate ability to transform basketball programs.
A day after being named the Mid-American Conference coach of the year, Boldon signed a two-year extension Wednesday. The deal, when added to his existing contract, will keep him in The Convo until 2020. The university has not disclosed terms of his extension.
Boldon currently has an annual base salary of $170,000 — though it remains unknown how much he will be compensated under his extended contract. Boldon is set to receive an additional $8,000 from incentives this season, after leading Ohio to a winning MAC record and a regular season conference championship.
If the Bobcats win the MAC Tournament, Boldon would pocket another $5,000 for the championship. He’d make $4,000 for every NCAA Tournament win.
“I was blown away by the school itself when I came to see the school — and then the support of the administration,” Boldon said. “Working with an administration that really cares about women’s basketball is exciting, and being able to bring my staff with me made it all that much easier.”
In just his second year, after inheriting the worst team in the MAC, Boldon has turned it into the best — securing Ohio’s first conference regular season title since 1994-95.
Prior to his stint at Ohio, Boldon took the Youngstown State women’s basketball team that went 0-30 the year before he arrived to 23-10 in 2012-13, just three years later.
Boldon revitalized both Youngstown State and Ohio, winning two conference coach of the year titles during the past three seasons.
“He’s just a good basketball coach,” said John Vogel, an assistant sports information director at Youngstown State. “One of his strengths was that he needed other people to build on his own strengths.”
Because of Boldon’s trademark motion offense and adaptability, Vogel said opposing coaches have told him how difficult it is to coach against Boldon.
Jeff Wills, an assistant athletic trainer at Youngstown State, also commented on how laid-back and innovative Boldon is.
He said the first thing he took away from Boldon was his interest in building a relationship with an athletic trainer — a person who spends a lot of time getting to know players’ personal lives.
“This is a guy who valued my position and insight,” Wills said. “He might not agree with his support staff, but he was willing to listen and maybe use knowledge and input to get different perspectives.”
While the contract extension indicates Ohio Athletics’ faith in Boldon, it also eradicates any doubt that the coach might leave before his contract expires. Had Boldon vacated his position at the end of this season, he would have had to pay the university $60,000.
But his roots are in Athens as he prepares his team for the MAC Tournament this weekend and readies for the arrival of his first full recruiting class, which will be on campus beginning this summer.
“I’m very excited for the people that are here now and the people that are going to come,” said junior guard Kiyanna Black. “I feel like his (extension and accolades) are well deserved, and he’s a great coach.
“He just knows what he’s doing, and it’s kind of a family environment. He makes everyone feel comfortable, and he really cares about his players on and off the court.”
— Luke O’Roark contributed to this report.
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