Rick Barnes agrees to one-year contract extension with Tennessee

Following a successful season that saw Tennessee reach the Sweet 16 for the first time in five years, coach Rick Barnes has agreed to a contract extension with the Volunteers.

The extension will be for one year, carrying Barnes’ contract through the 20227-28 season, according to Volquest.com. There were no financial changes to Barnes’ contract.

“We are thrilled to be able to extend Rick and continue to build on the tremendous men’s basketball program he has developed here on Rocky Top,” Tennessee athletics director Danny White said in a press release. “He has infused a fantastic culture within our team and our players have represented Tennessee in a first-class manner both on the court and in the classroom.

“Our fans have responded to help create an electric atmosphere on gamedays and I can’t wait to watch the Vols continue our quest for more championships under Rick’s leadership.”

Barnes will be entering his ninth season at Tennessee this fall.

The high-water mark for his program came in 2018-19, when the team reached the NCAA Sweet 16 and won 31 games. The Volunteers matched the Sweet 16 feat last year but did so with a 25-11 record, not quite as good as 2018-19’s 31-6 overall mark.

Barnes has also guided Tennessee to an SEC title, claiming a shared crown in 2017-18 after finishing 13-5 in league play.

In total, the Tennessee head coach has compiled a 175-92 (.655) record, with an 86-56 (.606) mark in SEC games.

The extension is a nice show of faith from the Tennessee administration that it has a guy who can get the program where it wants to go. Ultimately that’s back to competing deeper into the NCAA Tournament.

To that end, Tennessee has now been to the Sweet 16 nine times, including six times since 2007. But the program has just one Elite Eight appearance despite those nine trips to the Sweet 16. That will be the goal for Rick Barnes, finally busting through that wall again.

Tennessee’s lone Elite Eight appearance came in 2010.