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Colorado accidentally approved an illegal contract for new football coach Mel Tucker

State law prohibits any higher education employee to be contracted for more than five years. So why did University of Colorado Board of Regents approve a six-year contract for new football coach Mel Tucker on Wednesday?

In a word: oops.

Wednesday morning, the board voted 6-2 in favor of Tucker’s contract to run Jan. 1, 2019 through Dec. 31, 2024. That’s six years. Based on the language of the approved contract, which includes annual raises of $275,000, the deal is worth $18.5 million rather than $14.8 million.

However, Ken McConnellogue, CU’s vice president of communications, told The Denver Post the extra year was an oversight and the contract will be amended to run through 2023.