Kentucky extends Mark Stoops' contract through 2019

Kentucky announced on Friday that coach Mark Stoops will be staying in Lexington for a few more years, as his contract has been extended until 2019. 

Stoops has led the Wildcats to 5-3 (2-3) record. Kentucky started the season 5-1, but has dropped two straight to SEC rivals LSU and Mississippi State.

“Mark is guiding our program in the direction we all want it to go and we are proud to reward that,” athletic director Mitch Barnhart wrote on his Twitter account. “I was confident Mark was right for this job when I hired him, but he has exceeded my expectations. From leading a group of young men to recruiting to fundraising, Mark has embraced and excelled in all facets of this job."

Just six months ago the school extended Stoops until June 30, 2019. Now the school has extended him again, this time until the end of the 2019 season. 

It isn't immediately clear how much the new extension is worth, but the old one was set to pay him significant dollars. 

The Wildcats finished 2-10 in Stoops' first season as head coach in 2013, but the coach pulled in the No. 22 recruiting class nationally later that spring (ranked by 247Sports).

"We are excited about the enthusiasm and recruiting success that (Stoops) and his staff have brought to our football program,” athletic director Mitch Barnhart said in an official release. "We had the nation's second-largest increase in attendance last season and we have had the two largest spring-game attendances in school history (in 2013 and 2014)."

Kentucky plays at Missouri Saturday.