When athletics director Nina King hired Mike Elko away from Texas A&M as the head coach of the Duke University football program on Dec. 10, 2021, the move was lauded across the sports world. Twelve months later, the program was coming off a nine-win season that many thought was years away, its first bowl game appearance (and win) in four years, and all the positive momentum in the world.
Eighteen months after Elko first signed the contract to become the Blue Devils’ head coach, King reinforced her commitment to the 46-year-old’s vision for the program with a restructured deal that would keep him in Durham through the 2029 season. The new agreement included commitments to the program’s assistant coach and support staff salary pools that would “future-proof” the financial deals with not just Elko but the people around him that have turned the results on the field around in record time.
“Over the last 18 months, Coach Elko has cultivated and executed a plan to push Duke Football forward with tremendous attention to detail, energy and a persistent commitment to excellence,” King said. “His passionate dedication to the Duke experience sets the standard, and we are fortunate to have him and the entire staff developing the young men in our program into elite student-athletes and future community leaders. Coach Elko‘s vision acutely aligns with the principles of the university, and I could not be more excited to have him guide Duke Football well into the future.”
