A Day Before The Final Four, Tommy Lloyd And Arizona Agree To A Long-Term Extension

The Arizona Wildcats earned a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament this season, reaching the Final Four for the first time since 2001. Leading the team on the sidelines is Tommy Lloyd. In his first two seasons with Arizona, Lloyd won 61 games, and he's won 148 games in his first five seasons—both NCAA men's basketball records.

Earlier in the NCAA Tournament, the UNC Tar Heels fired head coach Hubert Davis. In the following days, Lloyd's name has been thrown around in rumors as the next coach at UNC, causing angst among the Wildcats faithful.

It turns out those fans had nothing to worry about. ESPN's Pete Thamel and Jeff Borzello reported Lloyd and Arizona agreed to a five-year contract extension. The fully guaranteed deal, which kicks off in 2026-27, begins at $7.2 million and averages $7.5 million per year. The contract also includes bonuses and commitments to the staff salary pool, and a sizable buyout; his previous contract had one worth $9 million.

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Lloyd will now be one of the top-five highest-paid coaches in college basketball. He comes from the Mark Few coaching tree, spending two decades as an assistant coach at Gonzaga, from 2001 to 2021. Lloyd turned down several other head coaching offers from other schools, waiting to find an opportunity that made sense.

The Wildcats have proven to be a great choice. Lloyd has had extensive success during the regular season. His Arizona teams have won nearly 81% of their games over five years. Lloyd was named AP Coach of the Year and Pac-12 Coach of the Year in 2022 and won Big 12 Coach of the Year this season.

However, prior to this year, the Wildcats had suffered some tough setbacks during March Madness. Arizona bowed out in the Sweet Sixteen in 2022, 2024, and 2025, and lost in the first round to 15-seed Princeton in 2023.

Still, the university kept its faith in Lloyd, and it's paid off as the Wildcats have had their most successful season in a quarter-century. And based on Lloyd's track record, there's lots of winning yet to come.