Tennessee basketball announces contract extension for head coach Rick Barnes
Tennessee basketball announced on Tuesday that head coach Rick Barnes has received a contract extension running through the 2027-28 season. It’s a one-year extension for Barnes, who last received an extension in March 2022, with the previous deal going through the 2026-27 season.
There are no financial changes to the new contract for Barnes. On May 1, Barnes’ total salary went to $5.7 million. His pay goes up, as originally scheduled in the contract, by $100,000 each year until it tops out at $6 million for both the 2026-27 and 2027-28 seasons.
“We are thrilled to be able to extend Rick and continue to build on the tremendous men’s basketball program he has developed here on Rocky Top,” Tennessee athletics director Danny White said in a press release. “He has infused a fantastic culture within our team and our players have represented Tennessee in a first-class manner both on the court and in the classroom.
“Our fans have responded to help create an electric atmosphere on gamedays and I can’t wait to watch the Vols continue our quest for more championships under Rick’s leadership.”
Rick Barnes has led Vols to back-to-back seasons with 25 or more wins
The Vols are coming off a 25-11 season and a trip to the Sweet Sixteen. Barnes is 175-92 in eight seasons at Tennessee, leading the program to 25 or more wins in four seasons. He’s taken Tennessee to the NCAA Tournament five times, with one first-round exits and two second-round exits.
Tennessee went 15-19 in Barnes’ first season, in 2015-16, with a 6-12 SEC record. The Vols went 16-16, 8-10 SEC, in Year 2, before the jump to 26 wins in the third season under Barnes, going 26-9.
Tennessee’s 31 wins in 2018-19 tied a single-season program record, with the Vols finished 31-6 after a Sweet Sixteen overtime loss to Purdue. Barnes is the only Tennessee coach in program history to lead the Vols to 25 or more wins three or more times. Bruce Pearl’s 2007-08 team won 31 games and his 2009-10 team won 28.
Tennessee went 17-14 in 2019-20, 18-9 during the COVID shortened 2020-21 season and 27-8 seasons ago, before being eliminated by Michigan.
Tennessee went to second Sweet Sixteen appearance under Barnes in March
The Vols were eliminated by Florida Atlantic in the Sweet Sixteen at Madison Square Garden in March while the Owls were on their way to the Final Four.
Barnes currently has $29.4 million remaining five years of his contract.
If Barnes were to be fired before April 30, 2026, he would be owed 100 percent of the aggregate base pay and supplemental pay he would have earned between the termination date and the April 30 date. He would also owed 50 percent of the money left on his contract through 2028.
The buyout drops to 50 percent of the remaining money on the contract on May 1, 2026.
