News & Observer | newsobserver.com | 2008 NCAA Men's Bracket

N.C. State trustees today approved a three-year contract extension for Wolfpack baseball coach Elliott Avent, whose pact now runs through 2013. The Pack won an NCAA baseball regional this past season and advanced to Super Regional play for the first time since 2003.

Basketball coach Sidney Lowe, who was given a one-year extension a year ago after his first Wolfpack team won 20 games, did not receive a one-year rollover this year. The Pack was 15-16 in Lowe's second season and no contract recommendation was considered by the trustees in today's meeting.

Athletics director Lee Fowler said Lowe was not being penalized for a poor season. Fowler said Lowe's contract, which now has five years remaining, is in line with other Wolfpack coaches. Avent now has a five-year contract.

“I talked with Sidney about my decision to go with five-year contracts and he did not raise an issue with any of it,” Fowler said today. “There is more guaranteed money involved in contracts than ever before, and it’s in the best interests of the university to have five-year contracts.”