Florida Gives McElwain $750,000 Raise After Winning SEC East

GAINESVILLE, Fla. (AP) — Florida is giving coach Jim McElwain a $750,000-a-year raise after winning the Southeastern Conference's Eastern Division in his first season.

The Gators announced Friday they have agreed to bump McElwain from $3.5 million to $4.25 million annually, making him the highest-paid coach in the division. McElwain remains under contract through the 2020 season.

He is now the sixth-highest paid in the SEC, behind Alabama's Nick Saban ($7 million annually), Texas A&M's Kevin Sumlin ($5 million), Mississippi's Hugh Freeze ($4.7 million), LSU's Les Miles ($4.39 million) and Auburn's Gus Malzahn ($4.35 million).

The Gators went 10-4 in McElwain's first season, winning the East for the first time since 2009.

Florida lost its final three games, though, falling to Florida State in the regular-season finale, to Alabama in the SEC title game and to Michigan in the Citrus Bowl. McElwain's offense scored a combined 24 points in those games.

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AP college football website: www.collegefootball.ap.org

(Story by: The Associated Press)