Mark Byington, Vanderbilt agree to long-term contract extension

Mark Byington and Vanderbilt have agreed to a long-term contract extension, On3’s Joe Tipton confirmed. He led the Commodores to the Round of 32 in this year’s NCAA Tournament.

Vanderbilt went 27-9 overall this year, including an 11-7 mark in SEC play. The Commodores then entered March Madness as a No. 5 seed as part of their second trip to the big dance in as many years under Byington’s watch. Prior to his arrival, Vanderbilt had not made the Field of 68 since 2017.

Additionally, Vanderbilt advanced to the SEC tournament championship game this past season. It marked the Commodores’ first trip to the conference title game since 2012, when they took down Kentucky to bring home the trophy.

Following Hubert Davis’ firing at North Carolina, Byington’s name came up in rumors as a potential candidate to replace him. ESPN’s Seth Greenberg mentioned the Vanderbilt headman as an option as UNC got its search underway, and CBS Sports listed him as a possible target, as well.

Vanderbilt’s season came to an end in the second round of the NCAA Tournament with a loss to Nebraska. After that game, Byington broke down how the roster fit together and the legacy it will leave after his second season at the helm.

“This team is going to be remembered for a long time in Nashville and Vanderbilt and the things they’ve done,” Byington said. “It’s an incredible team. Maybe they weren’t the most high-profile players in the portal, but it was the right guys. You could see why I’m so proud and why I love them so much.

“I mean, the way they played tonight. They care about each other. They care about winning. They care about the right things. There is a lot of hurt in that locker room right now because they do care. They did not want it to end. They love each other. That’s not in every locker room. … I’m really going to miss this group.”

More on Mark Byington

On the whole, Mark Byington has a 47-22 overall record at Vanderbilt after taking over for Jerry Stackhouse. That came after an impressive run at James Madison, where he went 82-36 over four seasons and took the Dukes to the NCAA Tournament in 2024.

Byington got his first head coaching opportunity in 2013 at Georgia Southern and built the Eagles into a perennial team upon their move to the Sun Belt. He totaled a 131-97 record with the program before taking over at JMU in 2020, and he found quick success with the Dukes.

James Madison won the Sun Belt regular-season title during the COVID-impacted 2020-21 season and won the conference tournament in 2023-24 to punch their ticket to March Madness. It was the program’s first appearance in the NCAA Tournament since 2013.