FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. Following the program’s first NCAA Tournament Elite Eight appearance in more than 25 years, the University of Arkansas has signed head basketball coach Eric Musselman to a new employment agreement that could extend Musselman’s tenure at Fayetteville until at least the 2028 season.
The new fiveannual agreement runs from May 1, 2021 to April 30, 2026 and includes the potential for a pair of automatic renewals of one year (2027, 2028) based on Arkansas receiving bids for the NCAA men’s basketball tournament within the time frame of the agreement.
“As I said in the course of a memorable men’s basketball season, the best way for a head coach to advocate for themselves and their program is to win games,” said Vice Chancellor and Director of Athletics Hunter Yurachek. Coach Musselman deserved this opportunity based on the tremendous progress he and his coaching staff have made over the past two seasons, culminating in the most exciting season in recent Razorback Basketball history. Based on our ongoing dialogue, it is clear to me that Coach Musselman and I both share a desire to work together to ensure that he remains the University of Arkansas chief basketball coach for the foreseeable future. I am excited about the future of Razorback Basketball and look forward to seeing our program continue under the leadership of Coach Musselman. “
Under the terms of the new agreement, Coach Musselman will receive $ 4.0 million in annual compensation, with additional compensation and incentive payments based on success in the SEC and NCAA tournament and longevity in the position.
“Arkansas is one of the most important programs in the country and my family and I am ecstatic to be here,” said Musselman. “I am grateful for the commitment the university is making to me, my family and the future of our basketball program. I am extremely proud to be a Razorback and it is an honor to represent the state of Arkansas. Our staff remains focused on winning basketball games and building our roster for the future. We look forward to building on the foundation we’ve built in our first two seasons in an effort to bring even more success to our program, our university and Razorback fans everywhere. “
Musselman recently completed his second season with the Razorbacks, taking the program back to heights it hadn’t seen since the mid-1990s, when the Hogs played in consecutive national title games. He became the first Arkansas coach to win at least 20 games in each of his first two seasons, won a whopping 45 games in his first two seasons, and brought the Razorbacks to the Elite Eight in his first two seasons.
Musselman is 45-19 in two years in Arkansas and 155-53 in six years as a collegiate head coach. His overall win rate of .745 ranks seventh among active NCAA coaches with a minimum of five years as a Division I program. As a collegiate head coach, Musselman has won at least 20 games each year, won three conference titles, and reached four of the last five NCAA tournaments played.
Last season, Arkansas advanced to the NCAA Elite Eight for the first time since 1995, winning 25 games in total, equaling the eighth best total in the NCAA and the 13th time the program has reached its goal in 98 years of basketball. . The Razorbacks won 13 SEC games to finish second in the conference. The win at the conference was tied overall for the second-most in school history, despite playing only 17 games, and was the highest since 13-5 in 2014-15. After a 2-4 start in SEC play, Musselman got the bus back in the right direction by winning 12 consecutive games against SEC opponents and 15 of the last 18 overall.
Arkansas finished sixth in the last USA TODAY coaches poll (voted after the NCAA Tournament) and # 10 in the Associated Press poll (which played no part in the NCAA Tournament). It marked the first time since 1995 that Arkansas had finished the season in the top 10 in the country.
For his efforts, Musselman was a Jim Phalen National Coach of the Year finalist, a Naismith Men’s Coach of the Year semi-finalist, and the Basketball Times Midlands District Coach of the Year.
In addition to the team’s success, Musselman’s players have excelled nationally for the past two years.
Last season, Moses Moody was the first Razorback freshman to earn All-American honors and the first Razorback rookie to be a consensus first-team All-SEC selection. The SEC freshman of the year has declared the NBA concept to be the first “one-and-done” in Razorback history. JD Notae was also named National Sixth Man of the Year by Bleacher Report last year and the SEC’s Sixth Man of the Year by coaches.
In the 2019-2020 season, Mason Jones was named SEC Fellow of the Year by the media and earned All-America honors. Jones decided to forgo his senior year and then signed on as a free agent with the Houston Rockets. He now plays for the Philadelphia 76ers with Razorback teammate Isaiah Joe, who entered the NBA Draft after his second campaign and was selected by Philadelphia in the second round.
Despite the two players losing to the NBA of a team of 20 wins after year one, Musselman proved why he is one of the best recruiters in the country when he rescheduled the roster for 2020-21 thanks to three of the top 15 graduates land transfers. , two of the country’s 45 best sit-out transfers and the fifth-best recruiting class in the country. This spring, Musselman remains the standard-bearer when it comes to navigating the new landscape of college basketball recruiting.
New top-tier men’s basketball tickets are now on sale. Fans who are currently buying will be contacted in May to get the best seat locations available. Current subscribers can renew their subscription in the coming months. Upon completion of the subscription renewal process, all subscription holders (both renewed and new) will be placed in the priority seat selection process in July. This gives fans access to upgrade to better seats that may not have been updated and thus become available. For more information contact the Razorback Ticket Center CLICK HERE FOR WEBSITE – Phone: 800-9824647 (HOGS) or 479-575-5151. Email: [email protected].
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