Board of Regents will vote on the contract next week
In the new era of college athletics, the contract terms of a head coach’s extension are only one component to the formula of financing a competitive program.
When the Arizona Board of Regents votes next week on a extension for Wildcats men’s basketball coach Tommy Lloyd, it will also take up how to ensure Arizona has the capital to continue to compete at the sport’s highest level.
ABOR will consider extending Lloyd through the 2029-30 season in what would be his third contract extension since taking the head job in 2021. The Board will meet in Flagstaff on April 10-11.
Lloyd’s new deal will average $5.8 million per year, up from $5.55 million per year in the extension he received in February 2024.
The proposed extension for Lloyd calls for a base salary that will start at $4.4 million and increase for a combined compensation amount in each contract year as follows:
- 2025-26 season – $5,100,000 ($4.4 million base salary + $700,000 addl. duties)
- 2026-27 season – $5,100,000 ($4.4 million base salary + $700,000 addl. duties)
- 2027-28 season – $5,350,000 ($4.65 million base salary + $700,000 addl. duties)
- 2028-29 season – $5,600,000 ($4.9 million base salary + $700,000 addl. duties)
- 2029-30 season – $5,850,000 ($5.15 million base salary + $700,000 addl. duties)
Lloyd will also receive $200,000 annually from Nike and Arizona Sports Enterprises, bringing his total compensation to $5.5 million for the first season and rising to $6.25 million in the final year.
Lloyd will be eligible to receive a one-time retention incentive payment of $2 million if: (1) Lloyd is still employed at U of A in good standing and performing his duties as of April 1, 2028, or (2) if the University terminates Lloyd without cause prior to April 1, 2028.
If the one-time retention incentive payment is paid as a result of the University’s termination of Lloyd, the retention incentive payment will be subject to mitigation and offset.
ABOR said donor funds have been secured to cover the full value of the retention incentive payment.
If Lloyd is terminated after next season, Arizona will owe him an $11 million buyout. The buyout drops to $9 million after the 2026-27 season, $6 million after 2027-28, $3 million after 2028-29 and $0 if terminated after the contract’s fifth year.
The details of Lloyd’s extension also include an unspecified amount of more money for assistant coaches, with the ability to offer 3-year deals to some, and establishes an annual budget for revenue sharing and other resources.
“U of A agrees to support the Program so that it remains competitive nationally. Specifically, U of A and Lloyd acknowledge that U of A intends to remain competitive within the upper end of the Big 12 Conference and other similarly situated A4 (Big 12, Big 10, SEC, and ACC) public institutions,” an executive summary of the contract states.
Arizona will conduct an Athletics facilities assessment and, as part of that assessment, the school will consult with Lloyd and other basketball personnel on their recommendations for basketball facilities improvements.
Lloyd is 112-33 in four seasons with the UA, his win total the second-most for a coach in their first four years of their career. Arizona has reached the NCAA Tournament each season, making the Sweet 16 three times including this year.