Arkansas coach Eric Musselman signed a five-year deal worth $4 million annually on Wednesday after a season in which he guided the Razorbacks to their first Elite Eight since 1995.
According to the school, there are also two one-year automatic extensions (2027, 2028) in the deal based on the school reaching the NCAA Tournament during the contract. The contract currently runs through April 30, 2026, and also includes performance bonuses based on SEC and NCAA Tournament success.
Musselman has a 45-19 record in two seasons at the school, including this season’s 25-7 mark.
“Coach Musselman earned this opportunity based on the tremendous progress that he and his coaching staff have made in the past two seasons, culminating with the most exciting season in the recent history of Razorback Basketball,” Arkansas athletic director Hunter Yurachek said in a news release. “Based on our ongoing dialogue, it is clear to me, Coach Musselman and I both share a desire to work together to ensure he remains the head men’s basketball coach at the University of Arkansas for the foreseeable future.
“I’m excited for the future of Razorback Basketball and look forward to seeing our program continue to progress under Coach Musselman’s leadership.”
The deep foray in this season’s NCAA Tournament was the Razorbacks’ best showing since the Nolan Richardson-coached teams reached the NCAA final in back-to-back seasons — beating Duke in the 1994 title game and losing to UCLA the following campaign.
Musselman, 56, is aiming to experience similar success. His name was spinning as a possible candidate for the Arizona opening before the deal was announced.
“Arkansas is one of the premier programs in the nation and my family and I are ecstatic to be here,” Musselman said in the release. “I am grateful for the commitment the University is making to me, my family and the future of our basketball program. I have tremendous pride in being 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 continuing to build on the foundation we have established in our first two seasons in an effort to achieve even greater success for our program, our University and Razorback fans everywhere.”
Arkansas is Musselman’s second college head coaching job. He went 110-34 in four seasons at Nevada from 2015-19 and led the Wolf Pack to the Sweet 16 in 2018.
Musselman also spent three seasons as an NBA coach and compiled a 108-138 record. He coached the Golden State Warriors for two seasons (2002-04) and the Sacramento Kings (2006-07) for one.
He played college basketball at San Diego in the mid-1980s.
–Field Level Media