Southeast Missouri State football coach Tom Matukewicz awarded two-year contract extension

Southeast Missouri State coach Tom Matukewicz yells to his players during a game against UT Martin at Houck Field in this Nov. 4 file photo. On Monday, the university announced a two-year contract extension for Matukewicz.

Fred Lynch

Southeast Missouri State athletic director Brady Barke announced Monday morning that the university has given football coach Tom Matukewicz a two-year contract extension, running through the 2020 season.

The Redhawks went 3-8 in 2017 and finished fifth in the Ohio Valley Conference with a 3-5 mark.

It was the second consecutive 3-8 season for the Redhawks, who have gone 15-30 in four years under Matukewicz.

"Tom Matukewicz is the right person to lead our football program into the future," Barke said in a news release. "While the win-loss record has not yet met expectations, the culture within the program has greatly improved and we have become more competitive within the OVC. Changes will occur within the program to ensure we continue to progress and we will continue to invest, but I'm confident the program is in the right hands."

The coach's best record came in his first year at the helm, when SEMO went 5-7. It has posted three OVC wins each year.

Of the Redhawks' seven losses to Football Championship Subdivision teams in 2017, six were by a touchdown or less and four came by three points or less.

"I am proud of how far this program has come on and off the field in our first four years," Matukewicz said in a news release. "Obviously, we have progress to make on our win-loss column. Believe me, no one wants that more than I do. We are on the verge of pushing over that hump. We must make a few more key adjustments and investments in our program that will take us to the next level. I am so grateful I have the confidence and support of our administration. I am proud to lead this program to the heights we all know we can reach."

Matukewicz took over prior to the 2014 season, replacing Tony Samuel, who went 31-60 in eight years, posting just one winning season in his tenure.

Southeast football has just three winning seasons in the Division I era, a 27-year period that began with the 1991 season.

That same era has seen just four head coaches: John Mumford (nine years), Tim Billings (six), Samuel (eight) and Matukewicz.

Following the two-year extension, Matukewicz's contract now expires on Jan. 31, 2021.

A buyout by the university, in the case of a firing, would cost 50 percent of the remaining salary through the 2019 season plus 25 percent of the remaining salary for the 2020 season.

Matukewicz had previously received a one-year extension following the 2016 season, which would have expired after the 2018 campaign.