As Illinois men’s basketball enjoys its most successful season in years, the university on Monday announced a three-year contract extension for coach Brad Underwood.
The extension secures Underwood through the 2025-26 season and bumps his base salary to $3.4 million with annual increases that would raise his salary to $4 million by the final season of the contract.
According to a list of coaches’ salaries that Stadium published in October, Underwood’s would rank second in the Big Ten behind Michigan State’s Tom Izzo ($3.9 million) and 14th in the country.
The deal also includes subsequent extensions every time the Illini qualify for the NCAA Tournament from 2022 to 2025, allowing the contract potentially to extend through 2029-30.
If Underwood leaves for another job, his buyout is $8 million and decreases each year of the agreement. He would receive a $750,000 retention bonus if he remains through the final year of the contract.
The contract keeps his assistant coaching staff and athletic trainer on board through 2021-22 and increases their salary pool by more than 25%, the school said.
“I am extremely pleased with the upward trajectory of our Fighting Illini men’s basketball program and believe we are headed toward a championship future,” athletic director Josh Whitman said in a statement. “Under Coach Underwood’s leadership, our student-athletes have showed steady progress on the court and in the classroom.
“He has instilled a culture based on competitiveness, toughness, preparation and accountability that is yielding exciting results. His ability to project a vision for the program’s future, to recruit elite players to Champaign-Urbana and to develop them into a winning team has exceeded even my admittedly high expectations at this relatively early stage in his tenure.”
The Illini (20-9, 12-6) are tied for second in the Big Ten and will finish with their first winning conference record since 2010. They’re likely assured of an NCAA Tournament appearance for the first time since 2013.
Illinois’ turnaround in Underwood’s third season, after finishing 12-21 and 10th in the Big Ten at 7-13 last season, is the largest among teams from the six major conferences.
“Serving as head coach at the University of Illinois is a professional dream come true,” Underwood said in a statement. “I am honored to be one part of what is a collective effort in working to get Illinois basketball where it needs to be. Building a program is hard work; there are no short cuts. But I am excited by the growth we’ve seen. We are gaining momentum and continuing to climb that mountain.”
Illinois hired Underwood in March 2017 from Oklahoma State, where he led the Cowboys to a 20-13 record and an NCAA Tournament appearance in his only season there. He previously coached three seasons at Stephen F. Austin after seven seasons as an assistant coach at Kansas State and South Carolina.
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