Rick Barnes is going to be a Tennessee Volunteer for life.
No, really.
On Thursday, Tennessee announced the 71-year-old Barnes, who is entering his 11th season with the Vols, had signed a lifetime contract. Barnes’ deal, originally set to expire on April 15, 2028, pays him $6 million annually, according to the Knoxville News-Sentinel. The new contract will automatically be extended every April 15 to add three years, for as long as Barnes wants to coach.
“Rick has taken our program to unprecedented heights, and we are absolutely thrilled to have him continue coaching on Rocky Top for the rest of his career,” UT athletic director Danny White said in a statement. “He has constructed this program the right way, achieving elite-level success on the court while also ensuring that our players excel off the court.”
Barnes is the most successful coach in Tennessee men’s basketball history. He has gone 232-109 (.664) over the last decade in Knoxville, including a 112-67 record in the SEC.
He’s won three SEC championships, been to two Elite Eights and led the Vols to 25 wins or more in six of the last eight seasons.
It is rare, but not unheard of, for schools to pledge lifetime loyalty to their coaches. In November 2001, Duke awarded former coach Mike Krzyzewski a lifetime contract, believed to be the first in collegiate athletics. Krzyzewski retired in 2022 as the all-time wins leader in men’s college hoops with 1,202 victories.
Kansas coach Bill Self and Michigan State coach Tom Izzo have similar deals. Self signed his deal in 2021. Izzo signed his most recent contract, a five-year rolling deal, in 2022.
Barnes is the active Division-I wins leader with 836 victories over 38 seasons; Self is second with 831 and Izzo is fifth with 737.
Tennessee is coming off a 30-8 season where the Vols lost in the Elite Eight to Houston, the eventual national runner-up. In the spring, UT scored a recruiting coup with the signing of Nate Ament, a 6-foot-9 forward who is the highest-ranked recruit in UT men’s basketball history. The Vols return starter Felix Okpara as well as J.P. Estrella, who missed most of last season, and picked up a crucial transfer in Ja’Kobi Gillespie from Maryland. UT is likely to be ranked in the preseason top 20.
(Photo: Johnnie Izquierdo / Getty Images)
