It didn’t take long for Mary Taylor Cowles to garner tangible praise from her bosses.

After leading the Lady Toppers to Sun Belt regular season and tournament titles and a trip to the NCAA tournament, Cowles has been rewarded with a contract extension.

“It was really about showing her the confidence and faith that we had in her,” Athletic Director Wood Selig said.

The new contract locks Cowles up through the 2006-2007 season. It is only one year longer than her previous contract, but the extra year could prove to be a valuable recruiting tool.

“The ability to show incoming recruits she had four more years on her contract was one reason we decided to do this,” Selig said.

Selig said that Cowles didn’t come to him requesting an extension, but the department thought it was a good idea.

“We as an administration initiated this,” Selig said. “It wasn’t anything unusual or extreme.”

Selig said that other than the extra year, none of the specifics of Cowles’ contract changed.

Cowles was able to bring in five freshmen this year to add to her SBC championship team. But the Lady Toppers will lose three seniors after this season, including leading scorer Leslie Logsdon.

So the extra recruiting tool may become crucial as Cowles tries to return the women’s basketball program to the dominance it once displayed in making three Final Fours.

The contract officially ends June 30, 2007.

Reach Danny Schoenbaechler at [email protected].