Rutgers OKs deal to bring back Schiano as football coach

NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J. – Greg Schiano is back as Rutgers football coach.

The university’s Board of Governors on Tuesday approved an agreement to bring back the former Scarlet Knights coach to lead the downtrodden program that has lost 21 straight Big Ten Conference games and won seven games over the last three seasons.

The 53-year-old Schiano was given an eight-year, $32 million deal.

The agreement, initially announced on Sunday, came a week after talks to bring back Schiano had fallen apart when the two sides couldn’t agree on other financial commitments by the school toward improved facilities and infrastructure.

Schiano, a New Jersey native, went 68-67 at Rutgers from 2001-11 and turned the Scarlet Knights into consistent winners after years of being one of the worst major college football programs in the country. Success under Schiano helped Rutgers land an invitation to the Big Ten, and it joined the lucrative Power Five conference in 2014.

Schiano left Rutgers in 2012 to become head coach for the NFL’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers, but his tenure lasted only two years.

___

More AP college football: https://apnews.com/APTop25CollegeFootballPoll and https://apnews.com/Collegefootball and https://twitter.com/AP_Top25