Tennessee men’s basketball coach Rick Barnes, who has taken the Volunteers to the Elite Eight round of the past two NCAA tournaments, has signed a lifetime contract with the school.
The 71-year-old Barnes has coached Tennessee for 10 seasons, which followed his 17-season run at Texas.
“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,” Tennessee athletic director Danny White said in a release announcing the move Thursday. “He has constructed this program the right way, achieving elite-level success on the court while also ensuring that all our players excel off the court.”
Barnes has assembled a 232-109 (66.4%) record at Tennessee, which includes a 112-67 (62.6%) mark in Southeastern Conference play. He has led the team to six 25-win seasons and three SEC championships — two regular-season titles and one tournament crown.
With 836 career victories spanning his 38 seasons as a head coach, Barnes is the active wins leader in Division I men’s basketball. He will have an annual salary of $6 million after making $5.8 million this past season.