OKLAHOMA CITY — The OU board of regents officially finalized the contract for Ben Arbuckle during Thursday's meeting.

The program's new offensive coordinator contract is a three-year deal worth $1.5 million annually. Arbuckle's contract runs through January 31, 2028 and includes a $90,000 bonus if the Sooners win the national championship.

Arbuckle's salary will make him the fourth-highest paid assistant in the SEC, according to 2024 salary data from USA Today. Arbuckle's salary in 2025 will also make him the highest paid assistant at OU, slightly surpassing Bill Bedenbaugh's salary at $1.2 million.

Littrell's salary will place him between his predecessors, Seth Littrell and Jeff Lebby. Littrell was hired on a three-year worth $1.1 million annually, while Lebby was making $1.9 million before departing for Mississippi State.

Arbuckle was named as the program's new offensive coordinator last month, a few weeks following Littrell's dismissal in October. Arbuckle was previously the offensive coordinator at Washington State, where he made $745,000 in 2023.

With Arbuckle's contract finalized, the only remaining vacancy on OU's coaching staff is at defensive coordinator. Former defensive coordinator Zac Alley left the program last month for West Virginia.

The next regent meeting is scheduled for March 10-11.

Here are other notable items from the regents' meetings:

— The contract for new offensive analyst John Kuceyeski was finalized at an annualized rate of $200,000 for 12 months. Kuceyeski spent last season as the quarterbacks coach for Washington State alongside Arbuckle. Arbuckle and Kuceyeski also previously worked together at Western Kentucky, where Arbuckle was the offensive coordinator and Kuceyeski was the program's director of player personnel.

— The regents approved the university's ability to disperse name, image and likeness (NIL) funds directly to 1Oklahoma and other collectives, as well as to student-athletes directly. This comes following an executive order from Oklahoma governor Kevin Stitt earlier this month that permits state universities to directly facilitate NIL payments with athletes.

— The regents approved the hiring of a construction firm for renovations to the west side of Gaylord Family Oklahoma Memorial Stadium. This is the another step in the Master Plan renovations for the stadium, which is anticipated to "address improvements and enhancements to the west lower seating bowl, the west upper deck, the press box, and all encapsulated or adjacent spaces or operational elements impacted," according to the meeting agenda.

The regents also approved an updated cost estimate for $12 million, an increase from the $7 million estimate that was approved during the September meeting.

Not an OUInsider.com premium member? Sign up today to get loads of inside information on Oklahoma football, softball, basketball, and recruiting, all for just a few dollars a month. Click HERE to get started!

Follow us on Twitter @OUInsider and on Instagram @ouinsiderofficial!

Subscribe on YouTube by clicking here for daily video content on all things Oklahoma!