Contract details for new Tennessee Lady Vols basketball head coach Kim Caldwell
Tennessee has found their new women’s basketball coach as Marshall head coach Kim Caldwell has been hired to fill the vacancy that was created Monday with the firing of Kellie Harper.
And if Caldwell can win big she will be paid big.
Caldwell’s contract according to documents runs through March 31, 2029. Caldwell will make $750,000 a year.
The University of Tennessee will pay Caldwell’s $600,000 buyout at Marshall. Caldwell will receive $60,000 for winning the SEC regular season, $30,000 for winning the SEC tournament and $25,000 for making the NCAA Tournament. If Caldwell were to win a national title she would receive a $400,000 bonus.
If Caldwell were to win a national title then the would be rewarded handsomely according to her contract
In the event the women’s basketball team wins the NCAA National Championship, Coach’s Base Pay will be increased on or before May 1 following the conclusion of the women’s basketball season in which such goal was achieved so that Coach’s annual compensation will equal or exceed the highest salary of any head coach of a women’s basketball team in Division I of the NCAA based on publicly available salary data on the date of such achievement.
Caldwell spent one season at Marshall guiding the Thundering Heard to 26 wins and a 17-1 conference record.
“From the beginning, our goal has been to find a dynamic head coach who can restore our women’s basketball program to national prominence. Kim Caldwell is the ideal person to lead us,” said athletic director Danny White said. “Kim has a winning formula that she has successfully implemented everywhere she has coached, with a fast-paced, high-octane offense and pressure defense that has led to remarkable results. In this new era of college sports, it was vital that we found an innovative head coach with a strong track record of winning titles. We are eager to return the Lady Vols to a championship level, and we’re confident that Kim Caldwell is the coach who can lead us back to the top.”
Caldwell cut her teeth at the division two level guiding her alma mater Glenville State for seven seasons. While there, Caldwell led Glenville to a two final fours and a national title in 2021-2022. Her championship team went 35-1. For her efforts that season, Caldwell was Awarded the Pat Summitt Trophy as the WBCA NCAA Division II National Coach of the Year.
“I am honored and humbled to accept the role as head coach of this historic program at the University of Tennessee,” Caldwell said. “I can’t help but reflect on accepting the Pat Summitt Trophy three seasons ago and be moved by the great responsibility and opportunity of now leading and building upon the incredible Lady Vol tradition she built. I am so excited to get to work and can’t wait to see what we all can accomplish together.”
Caldwell’s brand of basketball is fast and let it fly. Marshall was the fourth best scoring team in the country at 85.3 points per game. Marshall was third nationally with over 10 three-point field goals made per game.
Defensively the Thundering Herd forced 24 turnovers a game. They were third nationally with 13.2 steals a game. Marshall led all of women’s college basketball with three-pointers attempted and made per game
Caldwell will be formally introduced on Tuesday.
