NCAA Final Four 2026: Arizona coach Tommy Lloyd decides against Heel turn, accepts extension from Wildcats

NCAA Final Four 2026: Arizona coach Tommy Lloyd decides against Heel turn, accepts extension from Wildcats originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

INDIANAPOLIS – The first two games of the 2026 Final Four do not arrive until Saturday evening, but there already were some huge winners Friday at Lucas Oil Stadium: Arizona Wildcats fans, coach Tommy Lloyd and especially athletic director Desiree Reed-Francois.

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Lloyd agreed to a five-year contract extension announced during the open practice sessions that are an annual part of the Final Four occasion, ceasing speculation about his possible candidacy for the vacant head coaching job at North Carolina.

“We’re thrilled to have Coach under contract,” Reed-Francois told The Sporting News. “We can put this behind us and just focus on the national championship quest.”

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There had been pressure on the U of A administration to work out an agreement with Lloyd, who has won more games than any Division I men’s basketball coach in his first five seasons and ended a 25-year Final Four drought for the Wildcats with last Saturday’s West Region final victory over Purdue.

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Arizona Daily Star basketball writer Bruce Pascoe reported last week that his reporting indicated there were concerns about the volume of resources available to keep the Wildcats competing at the top of college basketball.

At least some of that money will go to Lloyd’s increased salary; he was in the first-year of a contract paying $5.1 million. The new 5-year deal will bump that to a reported $7.2 million through 2031.

“I’m happy to announce I’m staying at Arizona,” Lloyd said during his Friday Final Four press conference. He refuted a report that he’d spoken with the great Michael Jordan about becoming a Tar Heel. “We all idolized MJ… With that being said, though … my Michael Jordan is…

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Publish date : 2026-04-03 19:09:00

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