Jerome Souers will continue roaming the sidelines at NAU football games next fall.

After completing his 13th year as head coach, Souers received a three-year extension through the 2013 season after the Arizona Board of Regents approved the contract on Friday morning in Tucson.

Despite the disappointing 6-5 record for the 2010 season, NAU athletic director Jim Fallis said he's seen improvement in the football team each year since he arrived in Flagstaff in 2004.

"If anybody says this year wasn't a successful or a competitive year, I don't know if they fully understand the nuances of intercollegiate athletics," Fallis said. "In a sport like football, where a bounce here or a bounce there makes a difference. Certainly, we didn't achieve the record we wanted to achieve -- but things happen to prevent you from reaching those expectations."

Fallis cited the injuries to senior quarterback Michael Herrick and center Jeff Hines as key moments that derailed the Lumberjacks' season. However, NAU's response and competitiveness throughout the rest of the year -- with the exception of the 40-10 loss to Sacramento State -- was one reason to retain Souers.

"It tells me the players are competitive, the players are focused and the players don't quit," Fallis said. "It tells me the coaching staff is committed to remaining as competitive as they possibly can."

Souers, who holds a 72-75 (.490) overall record at NAU, will see his salary increase from $105,000 to $130,000, plus incentives based on academic and athletic performance.

"I'm appreciative that our administration sees the progress we've made in the program," Souers said. "We're on the right track -- we know we're close. I'm looking forward to the opportunity at being able to see that."

Fallis said the raise is NAU's means of staying competitive with other athletic departments.

"The university's position is that we need to be competitive, certainly within the conference and our peer institutions," he said.

In the contract, the football team must maintain its Academic Progress Rate at a minimum score of 925. If the Lumberjacks reach a score of 960 and a 2.8 overall grade point average, Souers receives a $5,000 bonus that increases as the APR score and GPA improve, reaching a maximum of $10,000 with a perfect score of 1000 and a 3.2 GPA. Since the APR's inception, the Lumberjacks have posted a multi-year rate of 937 and one-year APR of 947 in the most recent report. Both were the second-best performance in the Big Sky Conference. The overall GPA for 2009-10 was 2.76 and NAU is scheduled to graduate 19 of its 20 seniors this year.

"The bonuses have gone up considerably because he's established a level of success in that area," Fallis said.

As for athletic success, Souers will receive a $6,000 bonus if NAU reaches seven Division I wins, $8,000 for eight wins, $9,000 for nine wins and $11,000 for 10 wins. Additionally, if the Lumberjacks are crowned the Big Sky Conference champions, Souers will receive $5,000 and $20,000 if he wins the Football Championship Series national title.

To ensure an improved performance on the field, both Fallis and Souers are working toward establishing a regular summer conditioning program. Several of the seniors this past season stayed in Flagstaff and practiced together because they received a stipend for attending summer school. That's not the case for most of the team and the athletic department is exploring options to increase the number of summer participants.

Fallis cited Montana and Montana State's long-standing summer workouts as a reason for the schools' consistent success, and Weber State, Eastern Washington and Sacramento State have implemented similar programs recently.

"I've not looked to see what my competition has been doing the past two or three years," Fallis said. "I've done that this year and I've realized I've got to find the resources so that we can make that investment.

"To me and to Coach Souers, it's the final block in this construction process."

The workouts will help ensure consistency across the board for the Lumberjacks. It won't just be the upperclassmen leading the way the entire season because they were the ones practicing together over the summer.

"We want an offseason experience that allows them to be more physically prepared for the rigors of a full season," Souers said. "We need to be stronger and need to be more fit."

Although the win-loss record isn't at the level where Souers, Fallis and the rest of the NAU community want it, everything else is progressing steadily.

"When you look at the competitive nature of the program, when you look at where we are, when you look at where we're heading -- not just on the playing field, but off the playing field as well -- I just think it makes all the sense in the world to continue in the direction we're going," Fallis said. "I'm excited in where we are and I'm excited about the principled way in which Coach Souers continues to do things."

Jacob May can be reached at jmay@azdailysun.com or 556-2257.