INDIANAPOLIS — Head coach Tommy Lloyd has agreed to a new deal with Arizona, he unveiled on Friday.
“I’m staying at Arizona,” he stated at a Friday news conference.
After days of ambiguous statements about his future when being asked about the North Carolina job opening, Lloyd agreed to a new five-year deal with the school.
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Per ESPN sources, Arizona’s new deal with Lloyd will make him one of the five highest-paid coaches in college basketball, as he’ll start in 2026-27 at nearly $7.2 million and will average $7.5 million over the life of the deal.
The deal also includes significant bonuses and additional commitment to staff salary pool. The buyout is expected to remain significant both ways, as the deal is fully guaranteed, and the buyout to leave for another job, which was $9 million under the old deal, is expected to remain high.
North Carolina’s pursuit of Lloyd had lingered as a storyline over the Final Four, with Lloyd declining to outrightly dismiss the Tar Heels’ interest on multiple occasions.
“I’m a simple guy. I’m kind of just one thing at a time. I’m not a multitasker,” Lloyd stated Thursday at his pregame news conference when he was asked about the vacancy. “You can ask my wife. So, I’m 100% locked in on Arizona basketball right now, and I’m excited to see what this team can do. I have a real strong belief in this team and this team deserves my full attention, so that’s what I’m giving.”
After Arizona’s win over Purdue last weekend, as part of a longer answer about the significance of the Wildcats advancing to the Final Four, Lloyd stated, “Arizona is going to have another good coach after me. I promise you.”
When asked about those statements on Tuesday, Lloyd reiterated his point.
“It’s absolutely true,” he stated. “There’s gonna be another coach. This is a great program. I didn’t say when.
“People are going to speculate all they want. Guys, this team has my full focus. Nothing, nothing — I promise you, nothing — is knocking me off that path.”
Since arriving at Arizona in 2021, Lloyd has guided the Wildcats to three regular-season conference championships, two in the Pac-12 and this year’s Big 12 title. They’ve earned a No. 1 or No. 2 seed in four of their five NCAA tournament appearances, advancing to the Sweet 16 or further four times.
Arizona swept both the Big 12 regular-season and conference tournament championships this season, and advanced to the program’s first Final Four since 2001.
He’s 148-35 in five seasons with Arizona.
Prior to taking over at Arizona, Lloyd had been at Gonzaga since 2000, serving as an assistant coach under Mark Few for 20 seasons. The Bulldogs reached the NCAA tournament in every season that Lloyd was in the program, where he established himself as the best international recruiter and one of the premier assistant coaches in college basketball.
Lloyd and top-seeded Arizona will take on Michigan in Saturday’s Final Four.
