Martin signs 5-year deal

Kansas State vice president of institutional advancement and intercollegiate athletics Bob Krause announced today that head men's basketball coach Frank Martin has signed a five-year contract to run through the 2011-12 season.

"Frank and his staff have done a tremendous job of elevating our men's basketball program into one of the best in both the Big 12 and in the nation," said Krause. "We have great confidence in his ability to guide our basketball program and look forward to a long and prosperous relationship."

The contract states a base salary of $180,000 with a total compensation package of $760,000, which includes television, radio and internet appearances, shoe and apparel sponsorships and other services.

"This is day of great pride and joy for me and my family," said Martin. "It is great to share this day with the wonderful people at K-State. I am extremely grateful to Dr. Jon Wefald and Bob Krause for the opportunity to lead the basketball program at such a great university."

In his first season at the helm, Martin guided Kansas State to a 21-12 overall record, including a third-place finish in the Big 12 with a 10-6 mark. He became just the second rookie coach in school history to lead his team to the NCAA Tournament and the first since Lon Kruger did it in 1986-87, as the Wildcats advanced to the Big Dance for the first time since the 1995-96 season. Once there, Martin helped the program capture its first NCAA Tournament win since 1988 with an 80-67 victory over USC in the first round of the Midwest Regional in Omaha, Neb., on March 20. The third-place conference finish is the best since the inception of the Big 12 and the highest since the 1988-89 team finished third in the Big Eight. For his efforts, Martin was named the Big 12 Coach of the Year by CollegeInsider.com.

Martin is just the third coach at Kansas State to post 20 wins in his first season, joining Lon Kruger (20; 1986-87) and his mentor, Bob Huggins (23; 2006-07), while he joins Huggins as the only rookie coaches to achieve 10 conference wins. Martin was one of only eight first-year coaches to take his team to the NCAA Tournament in 2007-08 and joins Butler's Brad Stevens and Drake's Keno Davis as the only ones to accomplish the feat in their first year as a college head coach.

Under Martin's tutelage, Michael Beasley posted one of the greatest seasons ever by a college freshman in NCAA history, as he averaged 26.2 points and 12.4 rebounds per game in earning National Player of the Year honors from both CBS Sports.com and Rivals.com and National Freshman of the Year honors from CBS Sports.com, Rivals.com, CollegeHoops.net, The Sporting News and U.S. Basketball Writers Association (USBWA). Beasley became just the second player in Kansas State history to earn consensus first team All-America honors and the first since Bob Boozer in 1959. In addition, he was named both the Big 12 Player and Freshman of the Year by the league coaches and The Associated Press as well as a unanimous all-conference first team selection by nearly every media outlet.

In addition, Martin helped mentor freshman forward Bill Walker, who was named a third team freshman All-American by both CBS Sports.com and CollegeHoops.net and freshman All-American by CollegeInsider.com this past season. He was named to the All-Big 12 second team by the Kansas City Star and third team selection by both the league coaches and The Associated Press.

Martin was hired as the 23rd head men's basketball coach in school history on April 9, 2007 after spending one season as the top assistant and recruiting coordinator for head coach Bob Huggins at Kansas State. He helped the Wildcats to a 23-12 overall record in 2006-07, including a fourth-place finish in the Big 12 with a 10-6 mark. The 23 wins were its most wins since tallying 25 during the 1987-88 season, while the program posted 10 conference wins for the first time in the Big 12 era and for the first time since the Mitch Richmond-led 'Cats earned 11 Big Eight wins in 1987-88.

The 2006-07 season also saw Kansas State break an eight-year postseason drought with its invitation to the MasterCard NIT as the Wildcats earned their first postseason win in nearly 13 years with a 59-57 first-round victory over Vermont.

In his two-year affiliation with the program, Martin has helped Kansas State post back-to-back 20-win seasons for the first time in nearly 20 years, while the 20 conference victories are the most in a two-year span since the program compiled 22 during the 1975-76 and 1976-77 seasons.

Martin joined the Kansas State staff on April 5, 2006, after spending two seasons as an assistant coach at Cincinnati, first for Bob Huggins in 2004-05 and then for Andy Kennedy in 2005-06. He helped guide the Bearcats to a 46-21 (.686) overall record and back-to-back postseason appearances from 2004-06, including a trip to the NCAA Tournament in 2005.

Before joining Huggins' staff at Cincinnati in 2004, Martin spent four seasons as an assistant coach at Northeastern from 2000 to 2004, where he helped the Huskies post their first winning season in eight years in 2002-03 and their highest win total (19) in 11 seasons in 2003-04.

Prior to entering the college ranks in 2000, Martin spent 15 years in the high school coaching ranks in Miami, Fla., including the last seven as a head coach. He was a part of five state championships as an assistant at powerhouse Miami Senior High School from 1985-93 before collecting two titles as the Stingarees' head coach from 1995-99. In addition, Martin served two seasons as the coach at North Miami Senior High School (1993-95) and one season at Booker T. Washington High School (1999-2000).

A native of Miami, Fla., Martin, 42, earned his bachelor's degree in physical education from Florida International in 1993. He and his wife, Anya, have a daughter, Amalia (3) and a son, Christian (1). Martin also has a son, Brandon (8).