Rex Walters receives a contract extension

From USF athletics:

The University of San Francisco and head men's basketball coach Rex Walters have agreed to a new contract which will run through the 2015-16 season as announced today by Director of Athletics Scott Sidwell.

"In a short period of time, Coach Walters has revitalized one of the most storied programs in college basketball history," Sidwell said. "We are committed to making Dons Basketball one of the top programs in the nation and we are confident that Coach Walters has San Francisco on the right track to achieve some lofty goals."

Walters will coach in his 100th game at USF when the Dons (4-1) open play in the 2011 Carrs Safeway Great Alaska Shootout Wednesday, November 23 against Dartmouth. In his fourth season with the Dons, Walters owns an overall record of 46-53, 20-22 in West Coast Conference play.

"I just want to thank Father Privett, the USF Board of Trustees, Charlie Cross and Scott Sidwell for doing this for me," Walters said. "It is important that our current players and recruits know that there is a commitment from the University of San Francisco to keep me here to continue building an outstanding program."

San Francisco posted a remarkable campaign in 2010-11 and reached the quarterfinals of the 2011 CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament. After a slow start, USF righted the ship in dramatic fashion and ripped off 11 victories in its last 15 games to close out the regular season. The Dons posted a 10-4 slate in the challenging WCC – the program's best league mark since 1982 – and were in contention for the team's first WCC Regular Season Championship in nearly three decades on the final day.

Highlights of the regular season included thrilling overtime triumphs against Colorado (83-81) and eventual WCC Champion Gonzaga (96-91). San Francisco demonstrated remarkable resiliency and owned a remarkable 11-6 record in games decided by seven points or less and went 7-2 in games determined by three points or fewer.

Playing in its first postseason tournament since 2004, the Dons opened play in the CIT with a 81-73 home win against Idaho (3/16/11) and then posted a thrilling 77-74 come-from-behind triumph on the road at Hawaii (3/19/11). San Francisco suffered a 95-91 setback to eventual CIT champs Santa Clara (3/22/11).

San Francisco's starting backcourt of freshman Cody Doolin (Freshman), sophomore Michael Williams (First) and junior Rashad Green (First) all captured All-WCC honors. Williams was selected to the District VIII second team and joined Green on the 2011 All-Jesuit All-America Team. The Dons established a new program single-season record with 227 3-pointers.

In his second season with the Dons, Walters guided the Dons to a fourth place finish (7-7) in the highly competitive WCC in a year when half of the league's membership earned postseason berths. San Francisco posted a four league victory improvement in 2010, highlighted by an 81-77 overtime victory against No. 8 Gonzaga January 30 at War Memorial Gym.